"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." ~ Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Today is Friday, May 8, 2020, and this upcoming Sunday we will be celebrating Mothers Day. This is one of my favorite tributes I wrote and shared more than once. (Shared from Mothers Day, 2013)

 ~ I am sitting here thinking about all the special moms that have had such a huge impact on my life. The annual day where we honor moms in a special way is coming up on Sunday. The photo reflects the obvious. My dear mother. Her mom, Granny Mac. My wife. Her mom, Mom Rawles. These ladies literally influenced and shaped my life and are in many ways responsible for who I am today. The word profound comes to mind because that's the level and extent of these moms along with their impact on my life. All of these ladies reflect special talents and abilities. They were and are known for their devotion to their family. But, perhaps the most telling distinction I can think of is their shared common belief in God and their efforts to live, with His help, the life of a Godly woman. Mom Rawles was a pastor's wife for most of her adult life. She was a simple woman of faith and I learned to love her dearly. Granny Mac helped raise us kids and she never quit quoting the Scriptures to us up until her final days here on the earth. My mom sacrificed for us kids, took us to Church, worked outside and inside our home, and today she remains committed to the study of God's Word. Lastly, my wife, she is beloved by all, and the boys and I along with their wives, children, grandchildren, and the great grand, all can rise up in thanking God for who she is and all that she does for each of us. Thank God for mothers who show us the way. Amen.~

When I wrote that my mom was still with us. She went home to be with the Lord in May of 2017. I also could add many other moms who taught me in public school, in Sunday School, or have lived lives of testimony for the Lord. I recognize the moms who gave birth to our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. Motherhood. What a calling!

Mother-Son Quote from the Bible
bible quote
– When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own [home]. ― John 19:26-27

– Men are what their mothers made them. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

– All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. ― Abraham Lincoln

– A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ― Washington Irving

– There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between the mother and a son. ― Author Unknown

– A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. ― Victor Hugo

– Moms are as relentless as the tides. They don’t just drive us to practice, they drive us to greatness. ― Steve Rushin

– My daughter and two sons are the flowers in my heart and garden. ― Ana Monnar

– Mothers yielding Bibles, contemplating smearing the blood of lamb chops over her doorway. Anything to keep her son alive another day. ― Antonia Perdu

– Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. ― Erich Fromm

– … and she loved a little boy very, very much―even more than she loved herself. ― Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree

– So there’s this boy. He kinda stole my heart. He calls me ‘mom’. ― Author Unknown

-I think my life began with waking up and loving my mother's face. - George Eliot

– Let France have good mothers, and she will have good sons. ― Napoleon Bonaparte

mother and son quote
– You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be
I had a mother who read to me. ― Strickland Gillilan

– I find, by close observation, that the mothers are the levers which move in education. The men talk about it . . . but the women work most for it. ― Frances Watkins Harper

– No delusion is greater than the notion that method and industry can make up for lack of mother-wit, either in science or in practical life. ― Thomas Huxley

– I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ― Abraham Lincoln

– Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together. ― Pearl S. Buck

- Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged. - Louisa May Alcott

– The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. ― Honoré de Balzac

– A boy’s best friend is his mother. ― Author Unknown

– A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. ― Irish Proverb

No matter what happens from this day forward, I will always thank God for my mom. She was my biggest fan, supporter, encourager, and cheerleader. I read this little unattributed thought and it made a lot of sense to me. "No matter how successful, accomplished, and even how old one gets, when a man is feeling ill there is always that thought of wishing mom could be there with him." May God bless all the moms. Happy Mother's Day. Amen. ......More later.