Life Lesson #225 ~ Daughter of Mine

“You can’t be sure of most things in this world, but you can be sure of the love that lies between a mother and daughter.” ~ A Parent’s Humor 

The truth is, there’s not another woman alive that can take my mama’s place. It’s just the way it is. Mama’s kind, gentle, loving and a beautiful, good and lovely soul. She’s not perfect, but then none of us are. I’ll tell you what I know. She’s spent her life encouraging my dreams of writing. Mama’s fostered a sense of humor and self-esteem inside my heart by inspiring my imagination and motivating my creativity. She's protected me. Sometimes at her own expense too. When the vultures have come, she’s fought them back. When clowns have appeared with buckets full of water looking to drown my voice, she's been my life boat. Even when beastly mobs descended out of the darkness seeking to extinguish the light within her baby girl, she never wavered. Mama always knew how to shelter me from the storms, but never so much as to jeopardize my own strength and growth. She’s shown me how to carry myself, strong and fierce, and yet be compassionate and merciful. I’ve never doubted wrong from right in her company. She’s always a constant example, pointing me in the right direction. I am my mother’s daughter. I rest fully in this. I may be a single rose within her garden and yet from my small life, her legacy has grown and will continue to grow wider and stronger. Mama’s love is consistently reflected not only in my life but in those of my children, her grandson’s. The late Billy Graham once said, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” This is the very legacy my mama has built next to my daddy’s side for the last 44 years of my life. 

1 John 3:18 says, “My children, our love should not be just words, and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.” I’ve been blessed my whole life with this kind of love. From the moment I was born, I was loved unconditionally. I was welcomed into my parents loving arms, provided a home and a sanctuary I could always retreat to. I was raised in a home full of faith and joy. Our address was always changing, but our home never did. I may have grown up an only child, but I was never without company be it imaginary or not. I grew up in a home which was always inspiring me. Home was an anchor. I never doubted I could go out onto the world and soar. I was raised to be humble while still reaching for greatness. I knew real happiness. I was touched by happiness every day, even when the skies darkened. John Lennon said this of his own childhood. “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” This has always been my foundation. No, life wasn’t always easy. Hardship was par for the course, but my parents love was a constant. Mama, she was always there to tuck me in at night, saying a prayer with me. What I remember most is her gentle and beautiful voice singing me to sleep. Her words fell softly on my heart. I took in every note as I slipped off to sleep. “Baby mine, don’t you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine. Little one, when you play, pay no heed what they say. Let your eyes sparkle, sparkle and shine. Never a tear, baby of mine.” This was the song, Baby Mine from Disney’s 1941 film Dumbo. Mama sang this to me, every night. I was definitely a horse of different color, that’s for sure. Still my mama loved me just as I was, encouraged me to be myself even if that meant I stood alone at times. I sang loudly, running around the house in a cape and mask, lightsaber in one hand and a book in the other, dragging along flying monkeys and talking to my imaginary dragon. I was a nerd long before it was cool. However, my mama reminded anyone who challenged her patience, her job wasn’t to discourage my imagination. Instead it was to set mine free. For this, I am eternally grateful. 

My mama has always made one thing very clear. I am her baby, fully grown at that. 1 Samuel 1:27 says this. “For this child I prayed.” Though she may have wished at one time for more than one child life never seemed to oblige. It did, however, in return cultivate a deep, rich relationship between my mama and I. My mama is truly my best friend. She wiped all my tears away, kissed my boo boos and listened to all my hopes, dreams and plans growing up. Every afternoon when I came home from school she was there, welcoming me with open arms and a listening ear. Mama will tell you honestly I didn’t come with instructions the day I was born. She’ll be forthright, she made mistakes. Mama has never faked perfection. I love this about her. She’s real and because of that, I am too. I can tell you without a second thought, mama has always done the best she could. I have never, ever felt a lack of love. She’s the kind of mother who loves you with all she is. Her love, it’s an anchor. The bond I share with my mama, not just as her daughter but as her only child is unbreakable. We’ve laughed and cried together. Certainly we’ve been through tough times too. Neither one of us would ever discount the hard days. If you have a mama or a daughter you know what I’m talking about too. Little girls who turn into teenagers tend to be a bit stubborn at times. We cry and disagree before hugging it out. My mama’s been patient with me through the years. As the Water Giver explains, she seemed to understand from the moment I was first placed into her arms I wasn’t going to be a distraction, but possibly her greatest endeavor. “Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you’d have. It’s understanding she is exactly the person she’s supposed to be. And, if you’re lucky, she might be the teacher who turns you into the person you’re supposed to be.” God in His foresight, gave my mama just one child, a daughter. He gave her me and I her. Today, some 44 years after celebrating her first Mother's Day we share a bond, connection and a heart and soul that transcends anything we’ve left behind. 

Now, I won’t lie, being an only child hasn’t always been a bed of roses, but it sure has had its benefits. No one ever has to ask who’s who in old pictures. I had the back seat all to myself. I definitely developed a rather keen sense of humor early on. I had a zoo...rabbits, dogs, cats, birds, turtles and a half a dozen other pets. I never had to wear my sibling's hammy downs. Even though I seemed to be always be sharing it, I had my own room. I learned to use my imagination like nobody’s business. Independence pretty came easy too. Best of all, Christmas was like winning a trip to Disneyland most of the time. All that aside though, I was loved. I wasn't spoiled rotten either. My mama didn’t put up with any selfish nonsense either. She nipped it in the bud right away. I knew hard times. I knew what it was like to share and go without. I was told no more times than you can shake a stick at.. But I can tell you this. I never knew an empty table or belly. I never went without a hug or hearing my mama say, ‘I love you’. I went to bed safe, secure and with a song in my heart. Some four decades later mama loves my babies in the same fashion she raised me. Her legacy of grace and love has been passed down. Mama’s heart and soul inspires each of us to love unconditionally daily even when it’s not convenient. I can only pray we do right by mama, inspiring the generations following to love as she has. I think John Mark Green best explains my thoughts. “Perhaps one day, they’ll understand all the sacrifices she gladly made out of love for them.” 

When I was sad, she comforted me. When I was happy, she was happy for me. When I was uncertain, mama encouraged me. When I was afraid she chased the darkness away. I knew the world was cruel. I felt it’s sting long before I should have. Bullies, pint sized or grown, never understood me the way mama did. I was odd and different but she saw the light in my eyes. Mama never failed to reassure my me or my heart I was strong. She spoke confidence into my spirit. Mama never failed to whisper into my ear, you are enough, Christie. I was little but I was fierce. Mama made sure of this. She knew I was born with an unordinary kind of soul. I may have been strange to those who couldn’t understand me but to those who did, she said I was beautiful. I can still hear her voice, feel her hand on mine as she wiped my tears away singing from Baby Mine. “If they only knew all about you, they’d end up loving you, too. All those same people who scold you, what they’d give just to hold you.“ I may still be weird, unusual and a different cup of tea, but I’m who I am today because of my mama. The truth is, if f I turn out to be half the woman she is, I’ll consider myself a success. My mama’s beautiful. Stunning in fact. She makes broken look beautiful. So many nights when my heart was hurt and my spirit bruised my mama’s love soothed my soul. In her example I learned love can heal what brokenness divides. Mama, she’s the most unselfish and giving woman you’ll ever meet. I love God’s Word translation of Proverbs 14:1. “The wisest of women builds up her home, but a stupid one tears it down with her own hands.” My mama has always leaned on God’s grace to guide her and His unconditional love to continue building the very foundation of our home is built upon. Again Proverbs speaks telling us this in 31:30. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised.” And so today I praise my mama. I sit in awe of her humanness and kind heart. I can only pray I will be a woman of grace and goodness such as my mama is. 

After almost 45 years I’ve certainly outgrown my mama’s lap, but never in a million years will I ever outgrow her heart. Even after all these years when I’m at my lowest, if I quiet my spirit and listen with my heart, I can hear mama singing…” From your hair down to  your toes, you're not much, goodness knows. But, you’re so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine.” Tony Washington had no idea when he wrote this song in 1941 it would become an anthem in my small, little life some 32 years later, but it did. I have no idea why God thought I’d ever deserve a mama such as I have, but I’m so glad He did. She’s my best friend and confidant. Her encouragement never fails. Neither does her confidence in my hopes and dreams. She’s always been my compass and anchor, and always will. She’s been my mentor and teacher. She’s my mama and I love her in the morning, afternoon, evening, to the moon and back and to infinity and beyond. My mama has shown me, there’s no place like home. She is certainly the glue that holds all of us together, that’s for sure. And no matter how old I get, I know I’ll forever and always be her baby girl. So while Life Lesson #225 ~ Daughter of Mine is a bit late for Mother’s Day, my words here still hold true. I am my mama’s daughter and I always will. 

“All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother.” ~ Abe Lincoln 

~Merida Grace