Momma’s Gem

            Why do we need to be reminded? Like we don’t see it or know or understand. I don’t understand, and I rarely believe it. I see it in other women, like Tina, a mother that spoke at our Church for Mothers’ Day. Her faith was tested before she had it and now she is a spiritual mother of many, clothing women in dignity and strength. 

            The trials for her were numerous, and they came in groups like the many pellets in a shotgun. All firing and spewing at the same time. She couldn’t dodge their existence, so she began to seek. Her son was struggling to breath in the hospital. She searched for God's promises for the first time next to his bedside. She talked about reading scripture in Romans 8:11,

             “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give you life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.” 

            Tina read this and had no time to ponder its validity, or how unreal it sounded. Her mind was quieted as her spirit spoke. Her husband, Dave, spoke these things out in faith to their son’s fading body and mind. After the car accident, Doctors confirmed that if he lived, he would never walk or talk again. Tina explained how their situation with their son, Jake, allowed her faith to grow. Five rows back, occupying the end seat; I removed my glasses from my eyes as tears trailed down my face. This is the strength of a mother, and the gem inside a woman. 

            Men joke about not understanding women, and that truth will always stand a great mystery. Why would God place something so strong inside the physically weaker of the two human species? It doesn’t match. It’s thought provoking, and so evident. A woman’s ability to cope, learn, teach, wait, and have faith through it all is something to ponder. That’s why Pastor Sam sends all the women to the front of the Church on Mother's Day. It is to crown them with honor and respect.
The first people to see Jesus return were women. The last thing Jesus did was making sure his mother was taken care of before he died on the cross.  He entrusted his mother into the home of another woman, Mary Magdalene. Jesus was all of the vastness of God bottled up in a human body. He knew every corner of a woman’s heart. He created it and knew what it was capable of. Even today, it is his joy to watch us discover these gems within us. Later throughout the day, I called my own Mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day. She told me that the night before was hard on her. She remembers the pitter patter of little toes on the kitchen floor in the early morning and toast crumbs along with jelly smeared fingers as we made her breakfast in bed. She misses the kids she used to have. We grew up and she wasn't ready to let go. Her heart is wrapped around each of us, even though we are grown and on our own, she wishes we lived in the back yard. She supports us and entrusts us to make the right decisions, and guides us gently when we get off course. She waits, and waits, and waits, prayerfully, for the storms in our lives to pass. Knowing and believing that they will. 

            At then end of the service, Tina asked her son, Jake to stand. He stood up in the congregation and Tina explained that he is completely healed today, married and has two children. However, living a life of faith doesn’t mean all things go perfectly how we planned. While Jake was in recovery, Tina suddenly lost her mother, who was her best friend,  and then lost her three-year-old son to a disease similar to cancer. We don’t understand God’s plan, and he wants it that way. However, he makes all things available to us, if we just ask. We will receive.