The most honored woman in the Bible is the mother and great emphasis is placed upon the influence of mothers. The word "mother" or "mothers" appears in the Bible approximately 300 times, and the word "mother-in-law" appears 11 times... always in reference to Naomi, mother-in-law of Ruth. The phrase "And his mother was . . ." appears 20 times in II Kings and II Chronicles. The phrase underlines the importance attached to the mothers of kings. Often the queen-mother is more honored than the queen-wife. The love of children was deep in the hearts of the Hebrew women, and the mother was regarded with deep reverence.
In more recent times, "All that I am or ever hope to be" remarked Abraham Lincoln "I owe to my angel Mother." George Washington declared, "I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education which I received from my mother." Jewish people have a proverb about mothers that is even more eloquent: "God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers."
Washington Irving reminds us about how important mothers are to us: "A mother is the truest friend we have when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
I was happy to receive gifts and phone calls from my children today and the memory of my own beloved mother was in my heart, as it is every day.
So what do you know about Father's Day? ;)
Father's Day is next month, Greg... :-)