Do you remember the Shoney commercials from years ago where they are trying to encourage you to "dine in" at their restaurants instead of going through the drive-thru at fast food places? The guy in the car is yelling at the speaker with his order and he has to repeat himself over and over. Finally, he looks at the camera and says..."I could have eaten at Shoneys, but look at all the time I'm saving!" I loved that commercial because I could relate to it so well! Fast forward to tonight.....
I was blessed to hear a powerful message Sunday at my daughter and son-in-law's church. There were two things the speaker wanted us to remember...
When my dad died in July, I brought home several boxes and albums of family pictures. I went though them last night. There were a lot of old black and white ones....some of people I never knew. There were also some of my parents when they were young...... before they were married. There were a couple of my mom with a girl named Sarah. Seeing it reminded me of the story my mom told me about my dad and Sarah. They were sweethearts and decided they were going to elope. So, they pretended to just being going on a date and took off to a nearby town to find the justice of the peace. Her dad was suspicious, so after a while, he headed in the same direction. A couple of miles from their destination, the car my dad was driving broke down. They were sitting on the side of the road, when her dad pulled up behind them! You can imagine the conversation that took place between those two men!! :-) Needless to say, that was the "end of the road" (in more ways than one!) for those lovebirds! Sometime shortly after that, my parents began to date and about a year later, they were successful when THEY eloped!
I got this in an email. It reminded me of the proper perspective and attitude of the heart I should have as a mother (wife and employee, too!) I thought it might do the same thing for you. It is long but well written.....a meaningful analogy..... worth the read. I'd like to hear what YOU think!
Invisible Mom
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner; because, no one can see me at all. I'm invisible... The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature - but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just returned from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devoured - the book. And I discovered four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home; and, if there is anything to tell his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.
I was "cranky" today. I really was! Actually, I was down right irritable. The morning got started off wrong and, then, one thing after another happened to further aggravate my "crankiness". I had made some special plans this weekend that had to be canceled. So, I went to work a little sad. At work, I found out definitely that our office Christmas party has been scheduled at a time when I probably won't be able to go. Then, a co-worker (who is not known for her compassion or tact!) interrupted my conversation with another co-worker and proceeded to be unsympathetic, unkind, and harsh. It hurt my feelings and, to be honest, it made me mad!
On the way home, we asked her what her favorite thing had been and
Thanks for visiting today. It blesses me when you do!
