So Long Lives This
“So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” It’s the final couplet in Shakespeare’s sonnet 18. My mom loved it, and I often think about it in relation to her. My mother’s love and life lessons live on in me for as long as I remember her. And, on Mother’s Day, I think most of my mother.
So, it’s fitting that I’m in the midst of a series about the knowledge she passed on to me through her salmon-colored cards. The ones for today are her transcription of Psalm 51:1-12. On the top, she has my initials, so I know that this was her prayer for me. At first, it seemed like a harsh thing to put my name on, but Mom felt that God had forgiven her from the unforgivable and drawn her to his loving arms. If you knew her, you would know that she cared about her children more than anything else in the world, so it only makes sense that she would want the same for us.
 
Happy Mother’s Day
On this Mother’s Day, I celebrate the mothers who sat by their children’s bedside with cold compresses to lower fevers late into the night when they had work in the morning. I applaud the single moms who had to be both mother and father to little boys and girls. Big up to all the moms who chose over and over to put their kids’ needs before their own – who knew how to make a cheap meal enough to fill you. Grateful for all the moms that wore spots on the floor praying for salvation or protection for their children. Blessings to all the moms who never gave up on their kids when situations seemed impossibly dark.
Most Of All
Most of all, I thank God that He gave me a mom who loved me through the good and bad, who wished the best for me, and whose faith never dimmed. My greatest champion. My best friend. My confidant and helper. The very best Nana my kids could have ever had. Who never failed to take us all before God in her prayers daily, continuously. A mom who shared her faith lived her faith every day – beautifully and imperfectly – but very, very real.
(Salmon Of Knowledge Day 6)
Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2Â Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.
3Â For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4Â Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5Â Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6Â Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7Â Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8Â Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9Â Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.
10Â Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11Â Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12Â Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
