Mothers Day has passed, but my mothers have been on my mind for a couple of weeks now. I think a lot about goals and dreams and potential (if you can't tell), and their individual examples keep coming back to me. They are all women worth emulating for such very different reasons, and each one has taken their turn as a shining example to me of what I want to become in my own life.
My Mom:
The longer I am a mother, the more in awe I am at what my mother accomplished raising seven children. I marvel at the homemaking skills she perfected while surely juggling the needs of so many children. How did she do it??!! All the sewing, the gardening, the baking, the preserving, while maintaining a home of order and simplicity and frugality. Ahh....I believe I have answered my own question.
Order. Simplicity. Frugality... I just bet these qualities are what kept her mind free and focused on what mattered most-- right at home. My mom has always been conscientious about the value of time. She literally cannot bear to waste time, so she is ever working away at something useful or helpful or essential. I love that quality, and like to think she passed some of that along to me! My mother is tirelessly diligent, faithful, hopeful and helpful and such an example to me in those qualities alone!
My Mother-in-Law:
I have no idea where the negative references to mothers-in-law came from, because I have the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world. I could gush on and on about her. She is the very definition of classy, elegant, graceful and gracious, and she has the enviable quality of making everyone in a room feel recognized, appreciated and loved for who they are. She is thoughtful, objective, uncomplaining and joyful about the little things in life, and is always quick to laugh and quick to cry. When I married Creighton, I inherited a mother who is one truly beautiful lady with a heart of gold... which she passed along to her son.
My Grandma Rabiger:
She'll be 94 this year! My grandma is full of life, energy, wisdom and common sense. In a day and age where passions rule and the good and the bad are taken to every extreme, she is a model of temperence and moderation in all things--which I am SO, SO grateful for! If I am ever tempted to take something too far, all it takes is a flash in my mind of her steady example, and I carefully reel myself back in. My grandma is a friend to children, and still drops to the floor to play when the opportunity arises. There is nothing halfway about it, which is so inspiring to me. Grandma Rabiger is ever faithful, devoted to serving her family, and solid as a rock in her testimony and character. She has lived an abundant life, where it counts, and that abundance comes oozing out through her jovial laugh and the twinkle in her eyes!
My Grandma Hammond:
She passed away when I was a senior in High School, but her legacy lives on for me. She was a woman passionate about developing her mind and her God-given talents, and sharing them with those around her through service. She was an accomplished violinist, pianist and organist. She taught elementary school for 30 years. She spent every spare minute she had seeking knowledge and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the words of the prophets. I inherited many of the books in her collection, all of which are filled with underlined passages and notes in the columns of her thoughts as she studied. Her passion for seeking wisdom and knowledge out of the best books, and her love for the music that expressed her soul have trickled down to me. I continue to be inspired by her life and her desires to become the best that she could be in this life. I can only imagine where she is at now in her quest!
I am literally in awe of these four mothers I have been blessed with. If only I can live up to a fraction of what they have become in their lives, I will have accomplished something.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you amazing women!
