A couple of days ago was my mother’s 89th birthday. She joined the Church Triumphant some twelve years ago. 

The apostle John wrote on the island of Patmos,  Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13)

Prudence Gourguechon, from the American Psychoanalytic Association, observed that  “What we sometimes call an ordinary, devoted mother” establishes a foundation on which critical personal and emotional architecture can be built. “The capacity to trust. A sense of security versus insecurity. Knowing what’s real and what’s not real. Your mother helps you identify your feelings and develop a cognitive structure …. I think it’s fair to say that the capacity for empathy develops through your maternal relationship.”

I’ve often said that the difference between the way a mother and a father see their child is that a mother sees the possibilities of who we can become while a father sees the reality of who we are. We need both, a Dream and Reality, Roots and Wings. 

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted*, the prophet told Jerusalem. A promise given to us, too. A promise that is a glimpse of grace. 

Lord, for all of our mothers and those so treated us as a precious child, we say, “Thank you”. Amen. 

*Isaiah 66:13