So it's Friday. This weekend should be interesting. With my mother in law in town, we will be celebrating mothers day and enjoying a night out. I am looking forward to it. We still have no clue what we are going to do tomorrow, but I suppose we will figure it out. The good news is, I am done with my friends bathroom project. We finished the plumbing and major part of the walls. All that is left for him to do is the finishing (trim, drywall, etc.). I am so relieved. This afternoon, I may end up helping a friend move depending on when I get off of work. But enough about my day and weekend.
With the death of Osama Bin Laden, I am having mixed feelings. As a Christian, I know I should not take delight in someones death. I feel I should have some sadness at the death of another human being. I have delved into the Bible and found that, while the old testament advocates the death penalty in many cases (stoning is a death penalty), the new testament is ominously quiet on it. As I read more deeply I find that the overarching theme of the new testament is forgiveness and redemption and this is contrary to the death penalty.
On the other side, as an American, I am supposed to be happy that justice is served. I am supposed to celebrate that the architect of so much death and destruction is dead. I am happy that it is over, but am I happy he is dead? I just don't know. I don't know if I can truly keep from being happy about this or if I can truly feel remorse over his death. I am so confused on it. I think I need to talk to someone. Maybe I'll talk to pastor Paul about it Sunday.
So my wife asked me what I was getting her for Mother's Day. My response was simple. I am taking her to Italy for 11 days and I flew her mother out here for Mother's day, what more does she want? I may still get her flowers and a card, but maybe not. Since she reads this, I won't say if or what I am doing if anything, she will just have to guess. Ha ha, deal with it dear! On that note, I will give my pondering on my mother.
My mother was a wonderful woman. Her life was cut short by cancer when I was just 13 and it meant my life was forever changed. But this isn't about my life after her death, but before it. It's about her and what she meant to me. My mother was always calm. With four boys of my own, I have no idea how she did it. She was always smiling and courteous, even to those annoying door to door salesmen. I believe she would have been an awesome diplomat. She could get a Jehovah's witness to leave within minutes and make them feel good about leaving and happy to have met her. She was also a hard worker. The garden was hers. She weeded it, watered it, and harvested it and it was a huge garden. We always were able to can enough to last us until the following years crops came in. She also cared for the animals. She milked goats, fed chickens and hogs, and made sure we had what we needed. She also taught us how to do all of that. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world. I have mentioned to many of you how she burned hard boiled eggs, the other side of that is, she was always trying to learn. She actually was a pretty decent cook. When she had the opportunity she did a decent job and was always trying to improve. She also kept a relatively clean house. I say relatively simply because, how clean can you keep a house with 4 kids and a husband that uses every level surface as a storage area. Never mind that the house was 100 years old and had issues of its own.
Simply put, my mother was a wonderful woman. She cared so much for us kids, that as much as God wanted her with him, he gave us a 2 year transition period to figure out how to survive with her out of the house before he took her home. I used to look at the 2 years she fought cancer as horrible years. As the years go by, I look back and realize that while she was struggling with the sickness and was bedridden, we were learning how to do everything she did for us. She directed us and was able to give us a smile, even as she was sick from the chemo. When she passed, we were able to go on and keep up what she had done without much of an interruption. Even though we all missed her terribly, we were able to continue on with life in no small part to her teaching us. I never really thought about it, but even after she died, she continued to influence us. The lessons she taught us and morals she instilled in us continued on to this day. I am a better person because of her. I see many of the same strengths in my wife now and am glad that I have her as my partner and better half (and I do mean better). Thank you. have a happy Mother's Day.
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