Honoring Precious Mothers

There was a time in my life when Mother's Day was one of those holidays I just wanted to move on by.  Anyone who doesn't have their mother any more can surely relate to my feelings.  For years, I wouldn't go near a rack of cards around Mother's Day.  The sentiments expressed there just reminded me of what I didn't have.  Imagine my surprise when a young sister who had just lost her mom to breast cancer gave me a Mother's Day card last year.  Even though I had come a long way over the years, that amazing act of love on her part reminded me of how important it is to take the time to honor special mothers in our lives whether they are our physical moms or other special moms God has placed in our lives along the way.

I wrote about my dear mom back in October and you can click on Mama's Birthday to read those reflections.  Today I want to write about three other moms that God has placed in my life over the years.  Of course, no one could ever replace my physical mom, but these special women have been a blessing and I want to honor them today.

Mozelle Turner came into my life first as a church camp counselor.  Back in those days, I wasn't always too fond of her because she made us girls settle down at night when we wanted to be silly and stay up all night.  I do remember she had a gift for making Bible stories come alive and how she communicated God's love for us with pure heartfelt joy.  Mozelle loved life and had an infectious smile and laugh.  As I grew older and began to need motherly advice about love and life, I could always count on "Mo" for wit and wisdom.  Back in the "olden days", there was such a thing as written letters and I have in my possession 3 treasured letters that Mo wrote me in college.   This is a quote from one where she was counseling me through some relationship (boyfriend!) issues:  "You think you're alone but you aren't!  Me and Jesus are watching over you!  Time is a friend! Be happy and useful today and tomorrow will be better and better and better!  Get your hair cut short if you want to!  Do something you've been wanting to do!  Look sharp!  Walk fast with your head up and think, "Thank you God for this wonderful life you are giving me!" Smile - you've got a lot going for you!  Twinkle - you know lots of good and fun things others don't know!  Do one thing for a different person who needs it every day - you'll like Lori "more better" each day!  Say nice, sweet, encouraging, complimentary, funny things to people all day! Ok?!  Do this page for 10 days and write!"  Yes, that a lot of exclamation marks but then Mo lived her life as one big exclamation mark!  Her encouragement and advice was invaluable at this vulnerable time in my life.  I'm so thankful to have found this picture of "Mighty Mo" (my Dad's nickname for her).  (The quality is not so great because I took a digital picture of a slide, but I wanted you to see this dear woman.)  Can't you just sense her spirit of joy in her sweet countenance?!

The next mother I want to honor is Teresa Richardson, my stepmom.  It wasn't easy for me to accept a new "mom" in my life at 17, and I know it wasn't easy for her to deal with a teenage daughter when she was only 26 herself.  With God's help and a lot of patience on everyone's part, we enjoy a comfortable, loving relationship today even though the man (my Dad) that made us a family isn't with us anymore.  I attribute the health of our relationship mostly to Teresa's character and quiet inner strength.  In the early years, she wisely kept her thoughts to herself though I'm sure she wanted to "tell me a thing or two" on many occasions.  I always felt like a real turning point in our relationship was when I became a mother myself and we had so much more in common.  My sister Amy was only a one-year-old when my oldest son Ryan was born.  During this challenging stage of life, I could count on her for advice, and what new mother doesn't need lots of advice?!  Through the years, I've been blessed to observe Teresa as a devoted, loving wife to my Dad, a totally committed mother to my brother and two sisters, and now a fully dedicated grandmother to nine grandchildren (including my boys).  Anyone who knows Teresa knows she loves her family, and I'm thankful to have been blessed with her love and patience all these years.  Here's a picture of all of us at Amy's wedding in 2008.

And then there's my sweet mama, Georgia.  I met Georgia Redmon at church.  I guess you could say we adopted each other.  She raised two boys and needed a daughter and I needed a mom.  She has "mothered" and supported me in many ways but the thing that has meant the most has been her listening ear.  She always wants to hear the details of whatever is going on in my life just like a mother would.  Whether I'm happy, sad, troubled, or elated she wants to know all about it, and it has been so comforting to know I had a place to express myself in confidence.  Her love and attention has been invaluable to me.  I love her dearly.

 

If you've "listened" this far, you know God has blessed me many times over with loving mothers.  I guess He knew I would need a lot of "mothering" but then who doesn't?!  I hope you took the time to honor all of your mothers today ...  I bet you have more than one also.