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A Mother’s Day tribute
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
As I think about Mother’s Day this year, my heart is filled with so much gratitude and love. Like millions of people around the globe, I take this day as an opportunity to honor all the mothers, thank them for their effort in raising their children and providing constant support and care.
Whenever I think of a mother’s unconditional love, these lines written by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures always come to my mind: “A mother’s affection cannot be weaned from her child, because the mother-love includes purity and constancy, both of which are immortal” (p. 60 ).
I am also filled with a deep sense of joy and satisfaction when I think about my mother-in-law. She was a symbol of love in a true sense. She could love everyone of any age group with her perfect communication. I often used to admire her for upgrading her knowledge about new technologies at a very ripe age because of a simple desire to have some communication with her grandchildren and their friends. Anyone would fall in love with her in their first meeting and start calling her “Jiji,” a name by which her own children used to call her.
Contrary to the myths about relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in my country, India, my mother-in-law was the one who taught me to claim equality among men and women and cherish myself as a woman.
Her love was a gift from God, therefore I always thought of her as my mother-in-(divine) law. She had an amazing capacity to love others. Though she needed the support of a walker for walking, she never tired of supporting others in challenging times. Her family members, neighbors, and friends used to ring her up for advice.
Another quality which touched me was her instant forgiveness. One day I heard one of our relatives, who had come to visit her, speaking harsh words to her. I rushed into the room but was surprised to see my mother-in-law’s smiling face. She was making efforts to clear up the misunderstanding. After our relative left, I asked about the reason for this person’s anger. She said, “Nothing, dear” and proceeded to explain that she thought this person felt a lack of love. Then she said this about herself, “I could love more.” Truly an example of living love!
Today she is no longer with us physically, but I know her qualities are eternal, especially unconditional love. Now she lives in our hearts. I often sing these first few lines from a beautiful hymn when I remember her (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 23 ). This hymn came from a poem that Mary Baker Eddy wrote:
“Thou gentle beam of living Love,
And deathless Life!”
And so I’d like to say to all the mothers around the world:
Happy Mother’s (love) Day!!