Mother's Day
I was given a great deal of special treatment this Mother's Day from my 5 darling daughters and my sweet husband. My Mother's Day was spread over several days, actually, beginning with last Wednesday. Hannah, Rachel and Caroline had been concocting a plan for several weeks in which they had decided they wanted to spend their money to buy me a special plant. Last year for my birthday they each bought me a rose, and they know how much I have enjoyed them, so they decided for Mother's Day to get me another of my favorite flowers, hydrangeas. For me, flowers, like certain foods, are strongly tied to memories. When I see gardenias, roses, narcissuses, or jonquils I think about my mother's mother. She lived out in the country and grew all of those I mentioned.
The hydrangeas remind me of two homes that we lived in when Rachel was a baby. One was a house that had been built in the 1830's which had electricity, but no central air or heat, and was also a small house for 6 people.(I know in some parts of the U.S. central air isn't used, but in South Louisiana you melt without it!) It's what the Lord provided for us at the time and we have lots of great memories of our times in that house. One of our special memories is of star gazing. Behind the house we had a very large concrete patio with a couple of benches on it. We would go outside at night and lie on the benches, looking at the stars. Being in the country, stargazing is amazing, as you can see hundreds more stars than you are able to in the city. Lindsay and I still talk about those times, 10 years later. I enjoyed many things about the house, including the plants that had been there for years and years. We had a huge live oak tree, probably about as old as the house, in which we had a great rope swing. There were camellia bushes that were huge and a great many hydrangea bushes. I loved cutting bunches of hydrangeas for the table and that's where I first fell in love with them. Time passes so quickly and our little ones grow up before we realize it, so whenever I see hydrangeas I'm transported back to a time when my girls were still little and were noticing things such as flowers for the first time.
The Lord has chosen to provide us with a simple life by American standards, though compared to the rest of the world we are quite wealthy. I am so thankful for this simple life. If I had lots of money I know my sinful nature well enough to see that I would not appreciate all the blessings that I have. My husband and my daughters are the greatest blessings He has given me and I am very thankful for them all! When things are difficult for a time or we are going through trials they bring me great comfort. The Lord has used them all at different times to get me back on track, causing me to focus on the truth of His word.
Sunday, the girls provided many special treats for me. First they made poppy seed muffins in flower pot muffin cups and we had a nice brunch together. Lindsay, the tricky one, presented me with an apron she has been making me out of some overalls. She's tricky because she had me believing she was making the apron for herself and was even getting my imput on how to best construct it. I'll attach some photos at a later time. Rachel made me some homemade orange chocolates, and Hannah made me some bath salts and soap. Sunday evening, Hannah, Rachel and Caroline put on a skit for me. To avoid the Sunday rush we decided to go out to eat on Monday night. Last night we went to IHOP and had a blast. The girls had purchased a card that plays "Sea of Love" for me, and it was quite funny when I opened it in the restaraunt. There was only one other family sitting in our section and when they heard the doo-wop song they began looking around to hear where it was coming from. The girls thought that was too funny, as they know that I don't care to make a spectacle of myself, generally. Though they have found out I will do it if I think it will cause them undue embarassment.
Though I don't put a lot of stock in "Hallmark Holidays", I think it's important to show those that we love that they are important to us. Just as we should be in service and worshipping our Lord everyday, not just on Sunday, I think we need to show others how important they are to us everyday, not only on the ones Hallmark has chosen. I am thankful that my loved ones showed me they love me in such a tangible way on Mother's Day, but honestly, they show me in many ways everyday.
I am truly blessed by the Lord!
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