Mother-in-law’s action reminder of God’s love
Don HinklePathway Editor
May 6, 2003
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HOLTS SUMMIT — One day after my mother and father in-laws returned to their home in Louisville following their recent initial visit to our new home here I noticed a small, pink slip of paper laying on the desk in Bernadettte’s (my wife’s) day room. Scribbled in plain pencil were the words, "I love you Bernadette." It was a note written by her just-departed mom, Veronica.
Beside the note was a small "flip" calendar that had been turned to a page featuring a poem entitled, "Love." It was pretty obvious what Veronica was trying to say to the daughter she so dearly misses. Bernadette had lived her whole live near her parents in Louisville, so you can imagine the adjustments both have had to make as a result of God’s call on our lives to serve at The Pathway.
But what got me really thinking about the messages Veronica was leaving behind was their net effect. She not only was expressing her love to her daughter, but the note and the poem (I later found a card she had left on Bernadette’s dresser and I was beginning to think she was leaving "love" notes all over the house) was a valiant, human attempt at letting her love linger well after her departure.
This made me think of two things as we pause this Mother’s Day to express our love and thanks to our indispensable mothers: First, Veronica’s attempt to let her love somehow physically linger was just another reminder — to Bernadette and me — of the wonderful gift God created when he gave us mothers. One of the sure-fired ways we can tell someone really loves a person is when they have to tell that person "goodbye." Many a tear has fallen when mom and child have had to say "farewell." Yet for Christians, we can take comfort in knowing we will meet again – whether in this world or God’s perfect kingdom to come.
Second, Veronica’s efforts remind me of God’s infinite love for us. God left us a note, too – His inerrant, infallible Word. 1 John 1:8 says, "God is love." Indeed the theme of the entire Bible is the self-revelation of the God of love. Of course God’s ultimate expression of love was His decision to send His child, Jesus, into this world to rescue sinners like us so that through Jesus’ penal substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent bodily resurrection we will not perish, but have eternal life.
This Mother’s Day I will think of my mom back in Tennessee, whom I miss and share a mutually, abiding love. But I will also remember that she – like all of the redeemed — is the child of a God whose enduring love fills my heart thanks to the sin-debt paid by His Son and my King.