A Tribute to Mothers
| My
friend, Linda, passed this along to me. I am not sure who wrote
it, but I think it is a wonderful statement about motherhood. If
you know who I should credit for this, please let me know! The Invisible Mother > >It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way >one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be >taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' > >Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping >the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see >me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of >hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? > >Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock >to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is >the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' > >Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, >What's for dinner?' > >I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes >that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared >into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, >she's gone! > >One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a >friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she >was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, >looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to >compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she >turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you >this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly >sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration >for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' > >In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover >what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could >pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have >no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a >work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and >expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their >faith that the eyes of God saw everything. > >A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the >cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird >on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you >spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by >the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God >sees.' > >I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost >as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you >make every day, even when no one around you does. > >No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've >baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to >notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see >right now what it will become. > >I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of >the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work >on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went >so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime >because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. > >When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's >bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the >morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 >hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a >monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there >is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it >there...' > >As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're >doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, >not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the >world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers. > >Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know... I just did. > >The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect >you. > >To all the wonderful mothers out there!! God bless and keep you. |
