The Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31:25: Strong and Joyful

I would like to read from Proverbs 31:25 "Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come".

When I read this verse I thought of my mom. My mom is a strong and honorable woman. Today is Mother's Day, a day to honor our Mothers. Before I honor my Mother, I would like to share just a few tidbits about Mother's Day. There are several claims to the origins of Mother's Day in the USA; here are a few.

In 1868, Ann Reeves Jarvis organized Mother's Friendship Day to help reunite families that had been divided by the Civil War. Ann wanted to expand her work to have an annual memorial for mothers, but she passed in 1905. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe (author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic) organized a "Mother's Day" in New York on June 2nd, which was to promote world peace. (She wanted to have July 4th changed to Mother's Day for world peace).

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In 1908, Anna Jarvis (daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis) held a memorial for her mother and continued with her work to have a day to honor mothers. By 1912 many states, towns and churches adopted Mother's Day as an annual holiday, because of Anna Jarvis.

Then in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday in May as "Mother's Day". The Carnation has become the flower associated with Mother's Day. Red and pink are for mothers still alive and white are for mothers that have passed away. The legend behind the carnation goes back to the Passion of Christ.

Seeing Christ's sufferings, his mother Mary sheds tears that fell to the ground. These tears turned into fragrant and beautiful carnations. Did you know that more phone calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year? More than122 million calls are made in the US. In the nation formerly known as Yugoslavia, children would tie up their mothers on Mother's Day. The only way she could get free would be to pay her children with treats. Now back to the day at hand, Mother's Day.

My Mother, what can I say? But thank you! I am who I am today, because of her. She pushed me to do and be my best. I know at times I have disappointed her, but she stood by me. Pushing, nagging and loving me. I was the good kid, but I had a voice and boy did I use it! I do not know how she nor I survived my teenage years? I was amazed how much she learned between my ages of 14 and 22. She made life interesting, funny and scary. Not scary bad. I have to say she was not like the other Mothers, and I thank God for that. Some of my friends Mothers' were so strict and controlling. Yes, she set boundaries, but she allowed me to make mistakes and yes she made me take responsibility for those mistakes. She let me be me. Thank you Mom.

My mom went on Girl Scout camping trips with me. She even tried to teach us how to build a fire in winter. Thank God for stoves·because we would have starved to death if we had waited for her to light that fire. My mom was volunteer mom. She helped at school, girl scouts and cub scouts. She made it to all my school functions, choir concerts, plays and graduation. She was and is an active part of my life.

I remember my Mom and two aunts learning how to Belly Dance. They would close the living room drapes, lock the doors and make the boys (my brother and cousins) stay outside. It was like watching the Three Stooges. They were hilarious and entertaining. The irony here is that I am know learning how to belly dance.

I remember all the trips we took as kids. They were fun because of her. I have to say that when my brother and I would act up in the car my mom never hesitated to pull over and let us have it or reach back at smack us. We truly believed she had eyes in the back of her head. She sure could multi-task. My brother and I were so happy when we got the suburban and mom could no longer smack us, because we were in the third row seat·wrong·that woman had a yard stick with her. I remember the way she drove a car. I counted once, that in my mom and dad's 14 year marriage we had about 23 cars. We had cars that she needed a large rock to use as a parking brake, fire trucks to beat the carburetor and an umbrella if it rained. The car I remember the most is the Vega. When she drove that car and took corners, my brother and I would slide across the back seat, and if we had our cousins with us, they would be in the back rolling all around. She would put the pedal to the metal and away we went. Now she will deny this·but remember she is old and her memory is failing. So Mom, when you complain about my driving·all I can say is KARMA.

My Mom has many little sayings that she has said to me over the years, and a few of these I have used on my own children. The first one was what she called the Mothers curse. Her saying was "I hope you have a daughter just like you". Well, I did a son and a daughter. They are just like me. I have now passed this saying down to my children. When I started to drive, she would say "make sure you are wearing clean underwear in case you are in an accident". Really Mom, when you have an accident, no clean underwear. This one I have not used. Mom also used to say "if you keep crying and I will give you something to cry about" after she punished me. I stopped just trying to wrap my head around what she said. I have used this one several times on my children and they have stopped and given me that same look of confusion.

All kidding aside, I love my Mom and grateful she is still with me. I made the right choice when I choose her to be my mother. She has given me so much, without wanting anything in return. She is my sounding board, my rock, my best friend. She has have given me love, wisdom, humor, strength and her love of knowledge. Thank you and Happy Mother's Day Mom.

I would like to leave you a passage from the book Broken Wings by Kahil Gibran page 76. "The sweetest thing human lips can say is the word "Mother", and the most beautiful of calls is "O Mother." It is a word both small and large, filled with hope and love and emotion, and all the delicacy and sweetness that exists in the human breast. A mother is everything in this life: She consoles in grief; she gives hope in sorrow and power in weakness. She is a fountain of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness".