The other Mother's Day gift

It's not too late.
You still have the time,
for that which you can't afford
                                 not to do.
The sweetest sound
           in a mama's ears,
"Just callin'
for no reason at all."

The other day, I overheard a young woman
in the park, saying,
     "...I just wanted to call my mom."
Me too.
My mom passed to the other side of life
      now eleven years ago.
I would love to call my mom,
                       just because,
just wondering
                   what's up?
And know I love you
        in case you forgot.

Call,
Call,
Call your mom,
while she is still with you,
while you can,
when you can.
For nothin' at all,
         for everything.

I have no idea your relationship with your mom.
But as I have become older,
          I see my own mom in a different light.
She was imperfect.
She did what she thought was
          the right thing to do at the time
     which often didn't look like it, then or now,
those things I could not understand,
               but God has redeemed.

I have a lot more grace for her these days,
as I realize even more my own glaring imperfections,
my obvious mistakes,
my regrets,
my own misunderstood words and actions.

Your mama
          is always your mama.
No matter what.
And perhaps that is why God said,
"Honor your father and your mother,"
not because that changes her
      but ultimately, changes me
and how I love others.
       We are all imperfect, but forgiven.
Forgiving is laying down the baggage,
   letting go of the bitterness,
   not moving on and leaving behind,
                   but moving toward,
even when there is no response,
or no one picks up.
Those little calls
those little seeds of grace
work to change lives
                for generations
        because God changes you through it.

Mother's Day was created to say
           "I love you, mom."
The rest of the year is designed
                   to show her.

Call her often,
on the everydays
       that are not so ordinary after all,
not for what she can do for you,
              but because you can,
while you can. 

After my mother passed away,
I began calling my dad
at a certain time every morning,
    when he was so alone in his apartment,
    right before he ate lunch.
Often his news was the same
                 as the day before.
But no matter,
             it mattered.
             It mattered more than I could know.
     God used those calls
     to stitch up our relationship
and banish the silence between us.

It didn't just change his day.
                    It changed me,
an investment I can see now,
     in the lives of those who come after me.

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.

                   Ephesians 6. 1-3
                   Exodus 20.12
                   Deuteronomy 5. 16