Published: May 06, 2008 11:45 am         

It’s Mom who makes us who we are

J.H. Quinn writes: “A mother is a gardener, planting the seeds of faith, truth and love  that develop into the fairest flowers of character, virtue and happiness in the lives of her children.”

I found something that was clipped from a magazine back in the ’80s, but the original source is unknown. Even after a thorough search on the Internet, the writer, obviously a man, remains anonymous. I tell you this to emphasize that the next paragraph isn’t mine. After you read it, you’ll understand why I’m ducking for cover.

“Becoming a mother is a relatively simple process. Nine months of pregnancy, a few hours of labor and then birth. As simple as that, a woman becomes a mother. Before you jump down this unsympathetic, unappreciative male-chauvinistic throat of mine, let me finish. Becoming a mother does seem to me to be simple. It’s being a mother where the wonder and the work really begin, and the work begins early.”

Still reading?

As beautiful as babies are, who can deny their demanding, dictatorial demeanor, or their middle-of-the-night feedings, or the endless stream of dirty diapers or the constant demand on a mother’s time? Dad may be chairman of the board, but mom is the majority stockholder.

When tiny tot turns toddler, guess whose crystal vase toddles over? When Junior starts talking, guess who gets to listen? Dad, have you ever carried on a 4-hour, monosyllabic conversation with one of your preschoolers? (That’s a rhetorical question, just in case you didn’t recognize it.)

And then there’s the blessing of mealtime. Tom Mullen wrote a book in 1973 that describes the average house where kids live: “Where Two or Three Are Gathered Together, Someone Spills the Milk.”

Assuming mother and child survive infancy and childhood, there awaits the agony of adolescence. With her “baby” in the middle of a hormonal revolution, Mom is the key to coping. She works hard at helping her daughter understand her femininity and her son his masculinity. Voices that crack and sound like sick cows, braces that straighten crooked teeth and pantyhose that replace gym socks are met with Mom’s persuasive assurance that all of this is normal.

All this work at being a mother leads to the ultimate irony: The innumerable hours, the inestimable energy and the indefatigable endurance in all the investment of a mother’s life into her child so that someone else can reap the benefit. The business world gains an honest man or woman, and because of Mom, humanity inherits an individual of integrity.

No wonder the writer of wisdom penned: “A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. She senses the worth of her work and is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. When she speaks, she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise” (Proverbs 31:10, 18, 26, and 28, The Message).

Happy Mother’s Day.

Tony Thomas is a church pastor, a high school basketball coach and author of “A Smidgeon of Religion.” He can be reached through the newspaper at ptnews@pharostribune.com