Simply Put- Unconditional Love

We all are preparing to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday and I’ve certainly been blessed to have a mother, a wife and mother in-law like I have. It has often been said that behind every great man is a great woman. I would phrase it that beside every great man is a great woman. Mother’s are truly special.

I think what I see as a mother’s greatest attribute is her unconditional love for her children. It reminds me of the unconditional love our heavenly father has for us. No matter how bad we screw up as children, our mother’s love never wavers. Even as adults when we make a mess of things, and we do, our mother’s love is still as strong as the day we came into this world. I suspect that has something to do with their unconditional love. They’ve carried their children in their womb for 9 months. They’ve nurtured those children from birth through infancy to teenagers to adults. As much as us men folk like to think we’ve been right there every step of the way, the reality is that it is not the same as being the mother.

Any mother, like my mother and my wife, that brings up three boys through the teenager years has earned her stripes. Even as their children become adults mothers still hurt when their children hurt, cry when their children cry and suffer when their children suffer. I’ve learned that none of that stops just because the children move out of the house.

As I said I’ve truly been blessed. My mother had to endure three boys, who like all kids had times when we were good and times we weren’t so good. I’ve also been blessed in that my wife is a wonderful mother to our children. She, like my mother, has three boys to raise and four if you count me. She must feel like the Lone Ranger in a house full of men folk. But I’ve seen her unconditional love for her children up close. When I’ve had enough of teenage boys and am ready to show them to the door, she is steady as a rock with her unconditional love. And my mother in law has treated my like a son and I’ve seen that unconditional love from her as well. Having been a teenage boy long ago, the unconditional love of your mother is an anchor we all need. We might not want to admit it at the time, but that unconditional love of our mother is what can pull us through some very tough times. That’s just as true when we are adults as well.

So to my mother, my wife and my mother in-law, thanks for the unconditional love that you’ve shown to me and our children. While one day a year is not enough, it’s a small step toward saying thanks.

From the Front Porch: Uncle Bob’s mother told him don’t trouble with trouble until trouble troubles with you.