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Dear
Saints:
It's
the season of Easter, and I know I ought to be focusing on it, but
to be honest, I've been thinking about something else as the deadline
rolls around for this message.
"And, what might that be?" you ask. Well, I've been
thinking about—Mother's
Day. That's right—Mother's
Day. If it weren't for mothers where would we be? (Chew
on that one for a while!)
Most
of you are aware that Liz and I will be traveling over seas in a few
weeks to receive the most recent addition to our family—Guo
Yun Qing. We don't know exactly when, although the latest
information indicates we will fly over at the end of this month or in
early June. It appears that Yun Qing (we've named her
Graceanne) will be just about the same age (around a year old) as
Meaghan was when we adopted her five-and-a-half
years ago. It's estimated that she was born on June 29, 2003,
apparently to a mother (like Meaghan's) who loved her enough to place
her in a high-traffic
area. They used to call these children "abandoned,"
but now they're referred to as "foundlings"—a
much more appropriate term since it's obvious that the babies are
placed in locations where they will be easily noticed by passers-by
or local authorities. Meaghan was left at the gate to a
factory and Graceanne was left in a railroad station.
But,
I digress! My subject isn't children, but mothers. I
mention our adoption of Meaghan and Graceanne because I'm confident
that even in situations where children must be given up (in the case
of China—for
political reasons), it's done reluctantly by loving mothers (and
fathers!) who experience tremendous loss in letting them go.
I'm
reminded of another loving mother who had to let her child go.
Her name was Mary. In my devotional reading recently I came
upon the second chapter of Luke's Gospel. This chapter tells of
the miraculous birth of Jesus, his presentation in the Temple at
Jerusalem by his parents, and of the twelve-year-old
Jesus left behind in Jerusalem after the Passover festival.
One would think that my attention might be caught by one or more of
these well-known
stories but, instead, my eyes were drawn to two obscure verses.
Luke 2:19 follows the story of the shepherds and the angels with
these words: "Mary remembered all these things and thought
deeply about them." The second verse brings Luke 2 to a
close with this comment: "So, Jesus went back with them to
Nazareth, where he was obedient to them. His mother treasured
all these things in her heart." (2:51)
My
thoughts took me back to Passion Sunday. There, the terrible
suffering of Jesus for our salvation began. I recalled, too, a
moment in the Mel Gibson film when Jesus was brought before the
Jewish Council. Mary stood by and watched as her beloved son
was illegally tried and condemned by this angry mob of religious
leaders; and as she watched she said quietly (almost to herself),
"It has begun." One can only imagine the mass of
emotion that churned within her as she realized her firstborn son had
been wrenched away from her. She had poured her very life into
this uniquely born child who had grown into a man and, now, through
the most bizarre of circumstances, she would have to let him go.
Motherhood
is a bittersweet calling. Most mothers don't have to let their
children go under such painful circumstances (though some do).
But all mothers are charged with the painful task of pouring their
lives into their children only to release them when they have become
grown. A thankless task it is, especially in our society today,
when being a mother is frowned upon as somehow less than worthy of womanhood.
Yet,
in the midst of this selfish ambivalence stands Mary who serves as a
paradigm of true woman-motherhood.
Her situation was unenviable to say the least. Conceived out
of wedlock, Jesus most certainly wasn't what she had imagined her
first child to be. There was so much baggage that came with
him! So much public ridicule and rejection! So much
responsibility that she didn't ask for! But, she accepted her
call with dignity and loved him with a love that only a mother can love.
This
May, as we prepare to adopt our second child, my thoughts turn first
to two women—the birth mothers of our daughter and daughter-to-be.
How thankful I am that because they loved their children enough to
see that they were found in China (half-way
around the world!) we are a family today in America. How
thankful I am, also, that Meaghan has (and Graceanne will soon have)
such a wonderful, committed, and loving mother as Liz! She has
poured her life into Meaghan and given her all the love she has as a
mother to give, and I have no doubts she will do the same for
Graceanne. I think, too, about our own mothers who have
sacrificially given themselves to raising us along with our brothers
and sisters. What a blessing they are!
This
month, as we continue to ponder the amazing love of God that was
poured out for us in Christ, I hope you, also, will take the
opportunity to give thanks for the mothers in your life who have
poured out their love for you. And—don't
forget to tell them how much you appreciate them!
Grace
and peace,
Pastor
Larry |
