Bulletin articles for Mother's Day

MOTHER'S DAY

Mother's Day is here again, but you may have been made aware of that by the
constant bombardment of advertisements for Mother's Day gifts. It seems that
every magazine, newspaper, radio commercial and television advertisement
focuses on what new and wonderful gift you can give your mother which will
let her know how much you care.

In fact, there was a report on the news this week that in the U.S.A. the
average amount of money spent on gifts for mother's day by an adult child is
$140. I guess the marketing is working.

I'm reminded of the story about a son who lived several states away from his
mother, yet wanted to do something special for her. After some consideration
he decided that she was alone and needed some companionship. He went to a
pet store and found a parrot that spoke. Not only did the parrot speak, it
seemed to be able to understand on carry on conversations with people.
However the parrot cost $5000, but after thinking about it, he decided his
mother was worth the money and bought the parrot and had it shipped to her
as a surprise.

A few days later he called his mother and asked her, "Mom, did you get the
bird I had shipped to you?" His mother said, "Yes I did, that was quite a
surprise." The son excitedly asked, 'Well, what did you think?" The mother
said, "Well it was kind of small and a little tough, but it didn't taste too
bad." The son said, "But mom, I paid a lot of money for that bird and he
could even talk, he wasn't to eat." "Well," said the mom, "he kept telling
me that, but who can believe anything a bird says."

You know, the funny thing about all of the excitement over Mother's Day is
that I've yet to meet a mother who says, "I know my children love me because
they spend money on me this one day." From what I have been told, most
mothers would be thrilled with a phone call or a visit, but would really
feel loved if it happened more than on just one day a year.

It is the little and personal things that make a mother know she is loved.
My wife still has handmade, colored with crayon cards, which our children
made for her when they were young. She has a handmade clay pot, that kind of
looks like a small vase and a handmade napkin holder that still grace our
house. That's not to say that she doesn't appreciate the cards, phone calls,
going out to eat and being shown special care on Mother's Day, but honestly
it is the little everyday things that say, "I love you mom."

Ephesian 6:2-3 tell us: "Honor your father and mother," which is the first
commandment with a promise, "so that it may go well with you and that you
may enjoy long life on the earth." How about making that "honor" an everyday
thing, not just once a year.

Russ Lawson