Mother’s Day

May 10, 2007, 12:30 pm; posted by
Filed under Articles, David  | 3 Comments

“Momma, I’ve got two strong hands,
They’re fine as far as hands go.
I can shoulder the future, I can face the wind,
For the dream that I must follow…”

“…but I’m only afraid that my dreams may betray me,
and I’ll never get home again…”

When I first discovered this song, I had been gone from New York and separated from my mom for several years. I found myself in Alabama pursuing the call of God on my life, but feeling like I might never get home again; the song expressed so much of what I longed to tell her if I could only find the words. “I’m fine, Mom, because you made strong. You taught me to stand and fight, to not give up — and to love my children with a fathomless love.”

“But I’ll carry the songs I learned when we were kids…”

My dad was a singer in a band but it’s Mom I always remember as the singer. He sang in bars and honky-tonks, places I never saw, but she sang at the kitchen sink and in the living room. She sang everywhere, all the time. She sang about little coconuts and little boxes made from ticky-tacky. She sang about cellar doors and rain barrels and Judas selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. She sang sad songs about a girl named Patches and unrequited love. She sang about a man’s dying words — “Tell Laura I love her.” She sang one song called “Beer, Wine and Whiskey,” but it was no drinking song; it was about someone advertising alcohol on a billboard. I remember somebody drank, somebody drove and somebody died. It taught me at an early age that we’re responsible for our own actions.

“I’ll carry the scars of generations gone by…”

I learned so much about love, hard work and how to laugh in the face of adversity through the scars we bore together. See, we were betrayed. Betrayed and abandoned by a husband and father who could not conquer the demons of alcohol and wanderlust that haunted him; yet she never stopped loving him. I know, because when I thought we had every reason to hate him she still spoke well of him. She wept, heartbroken, at his funeral. And never remarried.

What taught me to laugh at adversity, though, was a time when we were broke and living in a housing project, and all the food ran out. I was terrified at this glimpse of the grown-up world, but she saw my fear, took me by the shoulder and said, “Come on. We’re going to the store.” We drove the battered car to the IGA and loaded the cart with good things to eat. Fried chicken, ice cream, cookies, rolls, Pepsi in glass bottles. She didn’t know where the money would come from to cover the check, but she wrote it anyway. Back in the car she said, “If we’re going under, we’re going under, but we are going to live high on the hog tonight!” And she laughed. And my fear fled.

I have never loved my mother more than I did that day. I knew no matter what happened, things would be okay, and I knew she would do anything for her children. I’ve shared that story with my own children and even lived out similar moments. Let tomorrow bring what it will, today we party!

“I’ll pray for you always, and I promise you this,
I’ll carry on, I’ll carry on…”

I wish I could be there with you, Mom, but wherever I am, you can be sure I’ll be okay, because you made me okay. When I became a Christian at 17, I was already familiar with His endless love and the gentle meekness of His touch, because I had seen the Spirit of Jesus in you long before that day.

I’ll remember the songs we sang when we were kids; I’ll remember the scars of generations gone by; I’ll pray for you always and I promise you this . . . I’ll carry on.

I love you, Mom.


Comments

3 Comments to “Mother’s Day”

  1. MC-B on May 12th, 2007 1:25 am

    I wonder how long it’s been between the beginning of Bweinh! and the first use of a form of “honky-tonk.” Is this even the first use? So many questions, so little interest.

  2. dsweetgoober on May 12th, 2007 3:52 pm

    Hey at least I didn’t use raisin poop in my very first post.

  3. Steve on May 15th, 2007 11:33 pm

    By the way, this might be my favorite post so far on the whole site.

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