Recently I heard a minister speak about the importance of being a good role model. “No matter how old you are,” he said, “whether you are 9 or 90, someone is following in your footsteps.” Most of the time I think we are unaware of the influence we have on others. We know our children and grandchildren are watching us, but we forget about our neighbors or co-workers. Whether we admit it or not our lives our closely monitored when we call ourselves “christians.”

My daughter is a teacher and a role model for her students. When I visited her classroom it was easy to see that her students adore her. She’s also a role model for my granddaughter. Abby is crazy about Aunt Ray Ray (her nickname for Rachel). Every time Abby goes to her house Rachel drops what she’s doing to focus on her niece. Abby literally follows every step Rachel takes. Recently Abby slipped on a pair of Rachel’s shoes to follow her around in and we snapped a picture to remind us of the importance of letting our christian lights shine.

Help us Lord to be good examples and to remember that someone is watching us. I pray we’ll lead them to you. In Jesus name, Amen

• In the United States, there are about 82.5 million mothers. (source: US Census Bureau)
• about 96% of American consumers take part in some way in Mother’s Day (source: Hallmark)
• Mother’s Day is widely reported as the peak day of the year for long distance telephone calls
• Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for many restaurants
• Retailers report that Mother’s Day is the second highest gift-giving holiday in the United States (Christmas is the highest).

You may not know it but the lady (Anna Jarvis) who invented Mother’s Day was not a mother herself. Mother’s Day began when Anna held a ceremony in 1907 in Grafton, West Virginia to honor her mother who had died two years earlier. Jarvis’ mother had tried to establish Mother’s Friendship Days as a way of dealing with the aftermath of the Civil War. Anna Jarvis began a campaign to create a national holiday honoring mothers. She and her supporters wrote to ministers, businessmen and politicians, and they were successful in their efforts. In 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize the new holiday, and the nation followed in 1914 when President Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day.

Tomorrow I will begin the day by placing a wreath of flowers on my mother’s grave. Then I will go to church with my family and give thanks for the blessing of having had a christian mother and grandmother. I’ll probably get some funny or sentimental cards from my husband and children, and I’ll enjoy spending time with the people I love most in the world.

How will you celebrate Mother’s Day? Share your Mother’s Day memories with me!

Who else has a job description like moms? I mean really, think about it. If all the mothers in the country got together and wrote a job description do you really think anyone would apply? Just imagine an ad in Sunday’s paper in the Help Wanted section that says: Fast growing family needs one combination cook, nurse, social worker, teacher, psychiatrist, maid, chauffer, and personal secretary. Must work and be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will be required to attend thousands of little league ballgames where you will be occasionally sit next to neurotic, loudmouthed parents who think their son or daughter is the next Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan. You will be required to host sleepovers where you will not be allowed to sleep. More than likely someone will throw up on you (side note-my twins threw up in my daughter’s hair!). You will attend hundreds of PTO meetings and serve on committees where you have to do most of the work yourself. By the way, the duties change from year to year but there is no retirement plan. This job lasts forever. Anyone with a weak stomach or who doesn’t have nerves of steel, need not apply.
Would you apply? Probably not. But then, maybe we’d glance at it again and this time we’d read the fine print where the salary and benefits are listed:
Successful applicant will be paid with sloppy kisses and sticky hugs, bouquets of dandelions and flowers handpicked from her own flower garden. You will be allowed to hear night time prayers and thousands of “God blesses.” Your refrigerator will always be decorated with art work and pictures. And someday, years down the road your child will realize what you have done for them and say “thank you” and reward you with grandchildren.
So read the fine print, it might change your mind.