An Open Window

Last weekend I read a few posts by folks either honoring their mothers or lamenting the absence of a mother’s love and nurturing spirit throughout childhood.      

Whatever the case may be, someone raised each of us and instilled values that helped shape who we are today.  Who was that person in your life?   Was it your mother?   A grandmother, an aunt, a father, a foster parent?   What attributes best characterize that individual?  

My own mother was the paragon of virtue.  She never preached her faith but rather lived it daily.  Like St. Francis of Assisi she believed that one should “preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”  

When my daddy would get angry and fly into a rage, she never competed in a shouting match but handled him like a saint and responded like Mother Teresa. 

Then later she’d whisper to me in private, “See how a soft answer turns away wrath?   If you just ignore him and don’t sass he’ll soon make like a wasp and leave you alone.  Works every time.”        

One early spring day the temperature rose to unseasonable heights and my daddy struggled and wrestled like a madman to lift a window in the house, which seemed to be glued shut from lack of use during the winter months.  

He stood there in a sweat, swearing with every profane word he knew - which always made my mother cringe, especially when he used the Lord’s name in vain. 

 At last she walked over to the window.  “Excuse me.  Let me try.” 

I wouldn’t have believed what happened next if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes.  At the mere touch of her fingertips that stubborn window slid right up automatically like a piece of done toast.   Daddy demanded to know “How in the hell did you do that?” 

My mother never missed an opportunity to brag on God.   “I just reminded myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

 

  What person in your life was the one most influential in your character development?   How would you describe that individual?