This post is dedicated to my lovely mother.
Looking back, not all of my memories of my mother are fond ones; however, she did so much, loved so much, and tried so hard. She helped make me who I am today. One thing she taught me at a young age was the importance of prayer. She changed my perspective on my relationship with God and I have held to that in times of trouble and of joy.
As a child, I used to have frequent nightmares. I would wake up frightened and run to my mom's room. I didn't want to wake her up, but I wanted to be by her to feel that safety associated with a mother's presence. Yet, she always knew I was there. When she woke up to me lying with a blanket on her floor, her first question was, "Have you said a prayer?" She taught me to pray for the Lord to help me to feel safe and go back to sleep. This lesson carried over to all aspects of my life.
Growing up with divorced parents, it was hard not having my dad around all the time. I didn't understand why he just wasn't there. I remember being angry with my father and feeling alone and less than. It was Father's Day and my dad was a few states away. I asked my mom if I still had to go up and sing with all the other primary children because Daddy wouldn't be there.
She stopped getting ready, walked over to me and knelt down. She told me how sorry she was that Daddy wasn't around. However, I always had a dad who was there. He would never miss a single event, big or small, in my life. She told me to sing to my Heavenly Father.
This forever changed my view of God and strengthened my faith in and relationship with my Eternal Father. I have been able to get through so much in life because I knew that He was there. Some may think that this could have diminished my relationship with my dad; yet, this was not the case. I was able to recall the Lord's command to "honor thy father and thy mother", and accept my father's efforts. I have been able to build our relationship and rely on him in times of trouble. To those who ask about our relationship now, I typically include this simple phrase within my response: My dad is one of my best friends.
Thanks, Mom.
