This week my Wednesday Woman is my mother. She is a woman who has influenced my life and who continues to teach me about life, love and being a woman. I would not be the woman I am today without my mother to lead and guide me. She covered me with love from the very start. She bandaged those skinned knees. She held me when I was sick. She covered me when I was cold. She kissed the fears of life away. She encouraged me to succeed. To be who I was made to be.My mom was born Lorene Ruff on February 12, 1938 in Arkansas. She is the oldest of five brothers. She helped to care for them beginning at a young age. When she was a child they were very poor. So poor in fact, they didn't know they were poor. She used to pick cotton as a little girl with a long dress on and covered with a bonnet. She loved skipping school and going swimming in the river. She was a country girl through and through. Big brown eyes, and beautiful dark hair.
My mom has gone through trials it seems her whole life. She was an abused wife to her first husband. She found safety from that abuse and married my dad. She lost my dad to the cancer that took his life. She knows about loss and in great amounts. She has made many mistakes in her life and she would be the first to share those wrongs so you could learn from them.
She is a giver. She is a servant. She loves watching soap operas and the news. She has her scanner on in the morning and at night, listening to all that is going on. She found the love of reading and reads each night before bed.
She loves flowers and she shares my love for purses. She loves to give gifts. If you would like to have the best biscuits and gravy in the world you must enter my mother's kitchen. She will also add some sausage and fried potatoes with that.
Something I have always noticed about my mother is her hands. She has these beautiful, tiny hands that are full of such love. She is an amazing grandmother. I don't think you would want to pick on any of her grandchildren, she might just get mad.
She knew Christ when she was a young teen, but she strayed away from her faith, only to return years later. Her love is a strong reflection of Christ. Her service has graced many. Her giving has reached the hearts of those she loves.
Is my mom perfect? Nope. I love her in her imperfections. She has qualities that will stand the test of time. She is caring and loyal. If you have my mother for a friend. You have a friend for life. She has always been there for me. She is a fighter. She has a strength that can only come from the Lord. I have never seen her give up on anything. Trials come and try to knock her down, but nothing keeps her down for long. She is right back up, stronger to face the next one. Right now she has a battle of a lifetime. She is fighting shingles and I don't really know what else at this time. But as they run tests and as they care for her I see her fighting. I see her hanging on with everything she has. I see beauty in those lines under her eyes. They tell of battles she has fought. I find humility in her daily walk as she gives up more of herself. I have seen my mom wipe her tears only to press on forward.
I know my mom may feel a little like Job right now fighting battle after battle, but she also knows God is bigger than anything she will ever face. My mom can find blessings within the trials she faces. I am not sure if I could have faced all she has taken on and come out of it as she has. But I do know she is an example of strength and beauty. I see the Lord in her as she walks with a heart of giving.
I praise You Lord for giving me the mother you found just for me. A mother who sacrificed and gave willingly for a daughter that is so grateful for all she has done. I might have not always seen it. All she gave. All she has been through. But now I do. I see the time, the years and how precious each is. I love you mom. I pray the Lord's healing upon you. I pray you find peace within your heart and know without a doubt you are loved. I know these are such simple words, but there is much love in them. A love only a mother and daughter can know. She is not only my mother, but she is my sister in Christ, and in that I take great joy. I celebrate your life today mom. I celebrate you and the love you continue to give so graciously.
