A tribute to my mother

Perhaps it is because October is my birthday month, or perhaps it is because I will be with my mother on my actual birthday after 9 years of not having this experience that has caused me to think more on her lately than I typically do (for we all know our mother's are always in the background of our minds in some way or other, but as of recently, my mother has become foreground material).

  And I've been thinking this:  I have learned generousity from her.  I have learned gifting from her.  My life has been generously given to because of how generously she has given to others.  I'm blessed because she blesses.  My mother speaks a lot about how one generation effects another.  And how a mother's sin can be passed down to her daughter, that they may carry the same unhealthy patterns around in life.  But I want to speak about how God saw a mother's grace and warmth, and because he knew she loved her daughter so much, he wished to bless this child due to her mother's faithfulness.  And he in turn calls me to be just as faithful, gracious, and generous.  I wish to be.
  Growing up in my mother's home, she welcomed anyone at our supper table.  Be it the gardener who only spoke Spanish, the young man from Michigan who sold encyclopedia's door-to-door, the young woman who gave her baby up for adoption, the Taiwanese student who lived with us for weeks, person after person ate with us, stayed with us, prayed with us over our meals, over their lives, and was shown memorable love...well, at least I remember it.  In my eighteen years of adult life, I have lived six of them almost completely rent free, because someone welcomed me into their home, gave me a room, let me eat at their table without any real payment.  I reap the benefit of my mom having done the same for people.  [I do recognize that I have my part in this.  If I was a thief or a real slob I might not have been given the offer in the first place;-).]
   I bring this up because of what happened the other night.  A young woman who's husband is deployed came over to my home.  Shortly after she arrived, she received a text from a friend who said, "I'm really sorry we didn't see you at the wedding tonight.  I hope you are doing alright."  She had completely forgotten that a friend of hers was getting married!!  She attended the bridal shower earlier on, had bought a gift, but she had blanked out this night of the wedding.  Well, after I got all the details from her, I realized she could still attend the reception which was about 25 minutes away, but she couldn't go home first due to the distance.  So I led her to the guest bedroom and laid out all my evening wear, with shoes, and wraps, and earrings.  I told her to try something on, and whatever worked she was to wear and then leave quickly in.  She got directions, I printed them out, she got dressed and out the door she went.  And I thought of my mother.  She would have done the same thing.  It was fun to be reminded of her at such a time as that one.   It was fun to have modeled her heart with my own.
Thanks, Mama.  Love, E