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My three mothers fill my mind on a day like Mother’s Day.  Whether or not this commemorative day was inspired by card companies seeking spikes in sales, the idea is a good one.

We too often think that we will constantly remember those we love.  Then our lives become cluttered.  And we focus on the door in front of us, without looking back to the doors that have been opened for us.

My birth mother chose to provide security for a young boy/man who could too easily think the worst.  His sensitivity was often his downfall – and my mother chose to stand strong in spite of her own misgivings and insecurities.

My mother-in-law (number #1) lived through the need to support others whose lives were difficult.  There is a resilience that I appreciate when I talk to her.  There is a sense of God’s destiny that could so easily have been clouded by circumstances.

And now my mother-in-law (number #2) carries the same supportive scaffolding wherever she goes, based on her own experiences.  She is a Godly woman who is strong, and forthright, and loving.  And she makes great buns that are quickly devoured at our house.

Thanks to my three mothers!!

A house can provide a person a place of refuge and a shelter – we call that a home.

A house, though, is also made up of materials.  Bricks, mortar, wood, cement, pipes, wiring, and sometimes other things that we would rather not know about.

Yesterday we took a look at a house.  One that is up for sale.

The foundation is solid.  Looks like no great problems there.  A giant pine tree towers in the front yard.  The owners had lovingly watered it – apparently the roots got all the water they needed.

Inside, the wiring is older – somewhat outdated.  The plumbing has had various tricks added to the original pipes – I call them “farmer fixes”.  The layout has been altered somewhat – in a good way. 

Overall a place you could occupy without a problem.  As to fixing it up – the question is always whether you can get your money out of it.  I would call this a low to medium level return on investment.

Yes, a house is a house.  And what you do with it is up to you!

As we are walking through our lives together, there are times where quietness is predominant.  We read of the the idea the we should “be still and know that I am God.”  That is a reassuring thing.

Quietness is not always a calming agent.  When God chooses to be quiet, we assume the worst.  Our questions, we figure, must have immediate answers.  Otherwise the plans that we have been working on will dissolve and dissipate (in other words, things will fall apart).

Of course, the plans we hope to accomplish may be our own scheming.  They may also be God’s plans in God’s timing for God’s purpose.  We are just trying to fill in the blanks where God has left them ambiguous for the moment.

I’m not sure which side I’m falling on this morning.  Calm and reassured, or anxious and uptight.  We are seeking a house in which to live.  Options continue to arise (for which we are thankful).  Options have also fallen away (for which we are also thankful).  God has reassured us that He is God and we are not – housing will happen.  In the quietness, though, I just wish I could hear the scrawling of a pen filling in the occupancy date!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day tea at The Foyer in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan.  My mother in an inhabitant of the facility – one of those places that truly is a home as well as a building.

Mom has been deteriorating in this last while.  She is much thinner than previously and tires easily.

A picture taking time was scheduled in the morning.  Mom was made up, her hair well coiffed, and her smile available!  The Broda chair tipped at the right angle, the camera lenses caught some great memories for us.  Then my sister and I jumped into the portrait and got a picture with mom as well.

How long does a physical body last?  Mom’s is wearing out, her pain is constant.  I am thankful for pain management, a science that has improved over the last 40 years.  That many years ago I remember visiting my grandmother as she went through the final throes of cancer.  Her pain was noticeable and I didn’t know what to do.  Dealing with the pain was not as sophisticated as it is now.

Thank God and thank those whose lives have been dedicated to providing the type of pain management that we have today.

Mom will have a measure of peace over her final days and years (if God allows) that we can be thankful for!