Mothers
The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said:
"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before
you reach the end of it. But the end will be better
than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy,
and she would not believe that anything could be
better than these years. So she played with her
children, and gathered flowers for them along the
way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the
sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried,
"Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and
the mother drew them close and covered them with
her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are
not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come to us."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead,
and the children climbed and grew weary, and the
mother was weary. But at all times she said to the
children, "A little patience and we are there." So
the children climbed, and when they reached the
top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it
without you." And the mother, when she lay down
at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a
better day than the last, for my children have
learned fortitude in the face of hardness.
Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I have
given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which,
darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and
evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and
the mother said: “Look up. Lift your eyes to the
light." And the children looked and saw above the
clouds an everlasting glory! , and it guided them
beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother
said, "This is the best day of all, for I have
shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the
months and the years, and the mother grew old
and she was little and bent. But her children
were tall and strong, and walked with courage.
And when the way was rough, they lifted her,
for she was as light as a feather; and at last
they came to a hill, and beyond they could see
a shining road and golden gates flung wide.
And mother said: "I have reached the end of
my journey. And now I know the end is better
than the beginning, for my children can walk
alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, " You will always walk
with us, Mother, even when you have gone
through the gates." And they stood and watched
her as she went on alone, and the gates closed
after her. And they said: "We cannot see her,
but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is
more than a memory. She is a living presence."
MAY WE NEVER TAKE OUR MOTHERS FOR GRANTED.
