I tried to give Mom something to look forward to. After Dad passed, I promised I would take her anywhere she desired. Being a world traveler, I imagined what she would choose.
Her first response tickled me,
“Can we go to Branson?”
“I was thinking a bit bigger, Mom. Because of Dad’s decline in the last four years, your travel got shut down. Is there somewhere on this globe you didn’t get to visit? Or loved so much you wanted to return?”
With those magic words, her mind began to consider possibilities she thought closed to her forever. Fast forward a year…and we have visited eight different countries, on four different trips, with another booked for the fall—France twice, Mexico, Holland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Whew! I hope God blesses me with her stamina and sharp mind when I am her age.
I tell you all this because I cherish every moment I spend with Mom.
Is traveling with an octogenarian a challenge?
At times.
Is it hard to navigate the world as the lone decision-maker?
Sometimes.
Is it worth the small annoyances?
Absolutely.
Will I regret One. Single. Trip?
Never.
I know full well my time with her is dwindling in this decaying world. She shaped and molded the me I am today. My faith in God and determination to attempt the tasks He gives me— come from a mother who talks to God in everything. And I believed her when she told me,
I could do anything,
I could be anything,
As she served as my Barnabas—my always encourager.
And because of that unfaltering gift, I have done things I might not have had the courage to do.
A mother is no perfect specimen of humanity. When God created Eve, He knew from the beginning, holding her dust in His palm, she would fail. But he created her anyway. His fierce love won out even though He also knew she and her descendants would break His heart, year after year and millennium after millennium.
My mother was not perfect. Neither is my mothering.
But she did her best—always.
As I do my best—always.
Because our calling as mothers is not to model an unattainable example of perfection. As if we even have the ability. It is to model Christ to the best of our abilities and take comfort in knowing that only He can cover our missteps and make something beautiful of our messes.
We love our children fierce and do our best to teach them and shape them. But the truth of the matter is— God has us covered.
He does the shaping and trying, and testing.
And we do the praying.
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.” Ezekiel 34:11
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:44
The Greek word for “draw” is helkuo which means to drag. In John 21:6, it is used when describing the heavy fish-filled nets dragged to land. So literally, the verse says, “…the Father who sent me drags them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
So when the nets are dragged, it doesn’t mean they can’t break free. It just shows the determination of the holder to save them. This is the determination of our God who delays in coming “not wishing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9)
And as my own Mothers’ imperfections fade in my mind with age, I hope my glitches become hazy in my kids’ minds. I hope they focus on the slam dunks, not the dropped balls.
So have courage. Our heavenly Father will do the chasing. He only asks us to let our light shine so our children can see
Our faithfulness
And God’s forgiveness.
And that we CAN do.