Sunday, March 25, 2018

Stamped On My Heart

This story is about Mom and Jesus and....spit. It is from May 9, 2010.

On Friday morning, our faculty and staff at Westbury Christian School received the following e-mail:
Good morning!! I am short one little stamp to mail a Mother’s Day card and was hoping someone had one. Let me know if you can help. Thanks and have a great Friday!!
Katy Shirley

Katy is new to WCS this year and teaches one of our second grades. Truthfully, before her plea for a stamp, of which I had none, I didn't even realize that Mother's Day was only forty-eight hours in the future. Today is the second Mother's Day since Mom passed away but to be honest, she probably had no idea of the holiday for five or six years prior to her death. This morning in our Chinese congregation, I was, as I usually am, in charge of the communion service. I told a story about hurting Mom's feelings deeply when we (Dad, Dave, Scott, me) forgot to buy her a corsage one Mother's Day. There were extenuating circumstances that year but no excuses: it's the one day everyone knows you make a really big deal about the woman who gave you birth. (If you are curious, go to The Subject Was Roses by clicking http://stevehawley.blogspot.com/2006/05/subject-was-roses.html.)


After the Lord's Supper, my mind replayed several other occasions when I hurt my mother, sometimes to the point of tears. I never meant to make my mother cry; in fact, I hate dealing with tears and the worst thing is knowing you are responsible. Being a guy, I don't really understand why my mother reacted as she did in those situations (which I may discuss in the next few days) but she did and that's all that matters. My mom was a saint in more ways than we have space for and each day, as I see kids struggle with their home lives, I am more grateful. My mom was, in no particular order, a decorated elementary school teacher, a preacher's wife, a Cub Scout Den Mother, a noted speaker, a child of the farm, her family's biggest supporter, a loving disciplinarian, a mentor to young women, the least knowledgeable sports fan of all time, and the sweetest and kindest person ever placed on this earth to do the will of the Father. We were so blessed.

Three times in the Scriptures (Mark 7, Mark 8, John 9), we are told how Jesus used spit in the healing of people who were blind and deaf. I tell the students the belief at the time that the saliva of a righteous and holy man was considered to have healing qualities. I ask my classes if they think that is silly; they do. But then, I ask them what they did when they were small and they bumped their head or bruised their knee. Which parent, I ask, did you go to for comfort? Invariably, the answer is, ''Mom." And what did Mom do? "She kissed the bump/bruise/boo-boo." And what was the result? ''It felt better.'' When? "Immediately!" All of a sudden, that ancient belief about healing from the lips of another doesn't seem so incredulous, does it? My Mom had the healing touch and I bet yours did as well. I can't tell my mother anymore but like Katy, many of you still can; you might just need a stamp. Do me a favor and scroll back to the top. Do you see what is printed on the right side of the stamp? FOREVER. I didn't know our government issued a commemorative stamp to honor our collective mothers but apparently it did. That single seven letter word says it all. I love you, Mom- FOREVER.

Applicable quote of the day:
''My mom is a never-ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.''
Graycie Harmon

God bless,
Steve (son of Sarah Nelda Chesshir Hawley)
Luke 18:1

www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com

5 comments:

Beatriz Farquhar-Guzman said...

Thank you for posting this beautiful thought. I just noticed you became my follower! I am Beatriz from Amazing Grace blog. The Lord called me to be his missionary for the scrapbooking and paper crafts world, can you believe His sense of humor?
May God bless you mightily as you travel to China.

Elizabeth Mahlou said...

As a mother myself, I am sure that your mother forgave all those things that you feel guilty about. We know that kids have good hearts but short memories! Blessings on Mother's Day!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

This is a great post. Moms are amazing people.

Anonymous said...

This is amazing blog.Thank you!:)
I come happy this your blog.I admire this.Here see your love anothers peoples and say hope.My husband was Bible school.I love Jesus too.
Christian School is good things.

God be with you!

Kata

Kirsti said...

Good and lovely post.God bless you and all you love!

Kirsti