“May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!” Proverbs 23:25
A few days ago one of the cows here on the farm gave birth to a calf, which was found dead. If you’ve ever heard a cow mooing for her calf you know how sorrowful it sounds. I felt so sorry for her as she kept going back to the place where the calf died, but it was not there. I know many mothers have had to give up young children to death. My own mother’s first son died at age 2. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for her. My younger daughter’s firstborn died at birth. I shared her pain and grief.
It seems mothers do a lot of “letting go.” It was quite traumatic for me to see my little girls being swallowed up by a big yellow school bus! Then there are the sleepovers, the trips with friends, weeks at camps, and other events when mothers leave their children in the care of others. Letting go was especially difficult for me when it came time for college. I think both Wayne and I cried when we moved our oldest to a college campus and drove home without her. I cried most times whenever we left one or both of them at college. Then we had to let them go when they got married, wondering if those guys were capable of caring for our precious girls. (They were.) My fourth grandchild is graduating from high school this week, so the “letting go” continues in this family.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, endured the ultimate “letting go.” She suffered the trauma of seeing her Son, the Son of God, dying for the sins of the world. Jesus had done nothing to deserve death—we did! Mary let go of her Son so that she and all of us could receive eternal life.
Whatever stage of “letting go” you’re in—my prayer is that you are depending on God to see you through the hard times of “letting go.” Praying for our children never ends, does it? As long as we live we pray for them and their families. I am so thankful for the prayers of my mom and dad. I believe those prayers saved me from a lot of trouble. I’m quite sure God helped me at times when I didn’t even know I needed help.
“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).
Happy Mother’s Day!
I miss my mom. She went to be with Jesus three years ago. This picture shows my mom, me, and my two brothers in front of the 2-room school we attended. (1958) The older brother died 30 years ago at age 38 and I have a sister born two years after this picture was taken.
So very poignant. Many thanks. I’ve never thought of my mother’s and my grandmothers’ “giving up…” but am glad to have those thoughts pressing me on this Mother’s Day. How present the Lord is and how very welcome!