The greatest gift that an individual can receive is the ‘Gift of Life’. There is no other earthly gift that can surpass this one. Without it, we would not be able to receive any other gift. And that is where I can say, “I am grateful for my mother.” There are no words to express the love of our mothers… My mother. The sacrifices that have been made to insure that I had the best upbringing that was possibly given all the way to her last breath. In her last moments she didn’t want to be bother, she was busy praying for those she was leaving behind. She didn’t want to leave us and she fought all the way, but finally the last words that stood out was, “God has this!” She knew she was leaving the rehab facility to not go to her physical home, but she was going to the greatest home of all. And then, as she was dying she was still being my mother and watching out for me and making sure I knew she loved me. A mother’s love cannot compare to anything else.

Life is a gift. And in life we have chooses to make, we have responsibilities, and serious decisions to make. That doesn’t mean we won’t make bad chooses, mistakes, or really fall short in what we do or say, but even in that we do have the choose to try to make things right. We can bring joy and love to another or sadness and heartbreak, we have a choose. We are given the freedom to choose, and it is up to us to make the right one.

Life is complex, but within it it is still our gift from our (my mother) mothers and ultimately from God. It provides us with plenty of twist and turns through it. It offers the chance to grow and become something better than before. It allows us to have disagreements large or small, and behind it the opportunity to work out those differences. My mother and I didn’t always agree on each others chooses, but we respected each other and knew in the end that God had control. Love always overcame our differences. And love can still overcome anything difficult that we may face, today.

I miss my mother very much! I lived and grew in her womb for seven months. When it was time, I enter this life on the outside to grow, flourish, and learn life’s lessons. That happened only because she was willing through love to share in that gift of life. She was and still is my best friend. We did most everything together as we were getting older. We had ongoing daily dialog beginning very early morning before the sun was up, and our night closed with a phone call to say good night and I love you.
On the way to work one morning, I realized that one day I will take her hand and leave this life to go to a greater life. I think about the song, ‘Oh What A Day That Will Be’.