Today, 8 March, 2012, is International Women’s Day and so it is fitting for us to make a special note of the strides made and not made to bring about gender equality in our communities. Though most of us can list extraordinary women who have had and continue to have a global impact, I want to focus on one particularly special women – my mother.
My father passed away when I was twelve and so I credit my mom for teaching me how to be the best man I could be. Though I wasn’t always the best son (especially during those teenage years), my Mom’s enduring love for me never ceased. She never gave me a reason to question her love for me. Her ability to always find the good in my life and her never dying belief that I always had the imagination to pull through any situation gave me the assurance to step out and take risks. All this while society kept telling her she was of the lessor gender and weaker without a husband to take care of her. Even today Mom’s gentle encouragement to me, even while she is struggling daily with her own health woes, never ceases to amaze me.
As I reflect on Mom and her life and the life lessons she passed my way, her most important lesson to me is the reminder that God’s call to each of us to live a life of Love. 1 Corinthians 13 is a reminder of this love. Thank you Mom for reflecting God’s love to me in ways only a mother can to her son. And may I as a man find the strength and courage to pass on this love to my daughter, son & wife. – JM
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