She Made Me Do It

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day.

And Mother’s Day is a big deal. According to Hallmark Cards, Inc, more than 115 million cards will be sent out for Mother’s Day. After Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day is the third largest card sending Holiday in the United States.

Mother’s Day is a big deal. I started calling restaurants two months ago for brunch and/or dinner reservations, and most of them were already booked. The restaurants that weren’t booked required a credit card to reserve a reservation. One restaurant informed me of an additional requirement of confirming your reservations 24-48 hours in advance. Failure to do so would result in an automatic penalty of 20% of your estimated bill!

Mother’s Day is a big deal—and it should be. Mothers’ Day is a big deal because Mothers’ are a big deal. As Williams Ross Wallace so eloquently put it in his 1898 poem, the hand the rocks the cradle rules the world.” Mothers’ Day is a big deal because Motherhood is a big job. Consider the following job description. I don’t know where I first saw this, but it is an poignantly accurate and haunting funny delineation of the great heights and depth of motherhood.

JOB DESCRIPTION OF A MOTHER

This is for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.

Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION:

Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in eyour charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left.

BENEFITS:

Job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life. Future opportunity for the title "Grandma".

My Mother will turn 85 this year. As I reflect on the sacrifices, guidance and impact that she has had on my life, my gratitude for her grows deeper and stronger. There is one characteristic that is not included on that aforementioned list that is probably my Mothers’s most significant contribution to my life . I want to thank my Mother for what she made me do.

She made me eat all the food off my plate. She made me drink a glass of water at every meal. She made me eat my vegetables.  She made me go to bed every night at 8:30PM. She made me turn off the television. She made me read. She made me study. She made me check my homework. She made me lay the clothes out that I was going to wear the following day the night before. And perhaps most significantly, she made me compete in a national competition which led to the discovery of my life’s purpose. I can truly say that what my mother made me do made me.

Mothers who make you do what you don’t want to or would not ordinarily do serve a divine mission in our lives. As David reminded us, sometimes the Lord has to “make us lie down. (Psalm 23:2). I am grateful that God doesn’t always ask our opinion before he closes some doors, eliminates some options, or creates some opportunities. Sometimes, God just does what God does because God is God, and he knows what is best for us,

Just like a good Mother.