MOTHER
The
young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is this the long way?' she asked. And the guide said: 'Yes, and the way is hard And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But the end will be better than the beginning.'
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the
way, and bathed them in the clear
streams; and the sun shone on
them, and the young Mother cried, 'Nothing will ever be lovelier than
this.'
Then
the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark,
and the children shook with fear and
cold, and the mother drew them
close and covered them with her
mantle, and the children
said, 'Mother, we are not
afraid, for you are near, and no harm can
come.'
And
the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, 'A little patience and we are there.' So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, 'Mother, we would not have done it without
you.'
And the mother, when she lay
down at night looked up at the stars and
said, 'This is a better day than the
last, for my children have learned
fortitude in the face of
hardness. Yesterday I gave them
courage. Today, I've given them
strength.'
And
the next day came strange clouds which darkened the
earth, clouds of war and hate and
evil, and the children groped and
stumbled, and the mother
said: ' Look up. Lift your eyes to
the light.' And the children looked and
saw above the clouds an everlasting
glory, and it guided them beyond the
darkness. And that night the Mother
said, 'This is the best day of
all, for I have shown my children
God.'
And
the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the
years, and the mother grew
old and she was little and
bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with
courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as
light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they
could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother
said, 'I have reached the end of my journey.. And now I know the
end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk
alone, and their children after them.'
And
the children said, 'You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you
have gone through the gates.' And they stood and watched her as she went
on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: 'We cannot
see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a
memory. She is a living presence.......'
Your
Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper of the leaves as you
walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly
laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not
well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in
every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and
she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love
and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate
you.
Not time,
not space... not even death!
|