She Made People Smile

When it comes to our opinions of someone else, haven’t we all, at one time or another, made assumptions based on fear rather than logic? Because we did not know or understand this person well enough, they must be undesirable and therefore not to be included in our inner circles. They must be shunned or ridiculed or at best ignored!

Such was the life my mother had accepted after her marriage. She knew that my father had been betrothed to someone else before the war and that her presence was not welcome. His family was old-fashioned and did not accept their union easily.

My mother spoke no English and therefore could not understand the kind of lies and insults that were being flung at her. She sensed it though, through their silence towards her in family conversations. They even went as far as to write things on the backs of her personal photographs.

But my mother knew, as all mothers know, that their love for one another was a bond that could never be broken. You see, anything made out of pure love, God’s love, can ever be made undone. She endured and carried on, raising her family and teaching herself the finer points of language. We used to laugh at her way of saying and writing certain things. We did not mean this to be unkind as she would laugh right alongside us.

I am the product of her words and her love. I try to make myself in her image, but how can one stare at the sun and not be blinded? She, as all mothers do, set examples for their children to follow. She said what she meant and meant what she said and backed it up through her actions.

It is truly a rare thing to come across a person with such deep conviction and devotion to Christ. She wasn’t much of a church-goer, but you could not find a more dedicated believer. She taught us that everyone deserved a chance and that others we did not know well enough were to be recognized and welcomed. Perhaps it was the path she followed that made her understand them so well.

That is the lesson we should teach each other and ourselves. We are often short sided when it comes to community and that is what leads us to mistrust and anger. Coming to someone with a whole heart makes us vulnerable. The other person senses this and they too shed off their inhibition and begin a conversation. There is nothing we cannot accomplish if we would just learn to listen and appreciate the value of our differences.

For there is no saving power than that of true grace and in the belief that with Christ, we can accomplish anything, as a family in faith and with the love that demands it to be so. I am telling you this with a sigh: I shall never meet a kinder, gentler, more understanding person as my mother. She was truly my best friend.

Just as Mother Mary is with us, she is also with me each and every day and I consider that to be the best gift any true son could ever ask for. May their prayers for us be remembered and may His peace be with you, always.