The year Mother died,
I had given her a lovely orchid for Mother’s Day.
It bloomed for a long time
and when the blossoms dropped
she continued caring for it.
After Mother passed away, I took it home
with little hope of it flowering again.
It sat on my counter and watched as I grieved Mother
and then so soon my precious big sister Jan.
A few weeks later I noticed a shoot coming out
with what looked like seven buds for Mom’s seven kids.
I was thrilled as one after another opened,
then it stopped at six.
Signifying one is missing.
But then the miracle.
The one I thought was dead,
soon shot out another shoot
and five more beautiful orchids appeared.
The one I thought was dead was more alive than any of the others.
– Ann Bredberg Lee
Last year at a reunion lunch with friends and classmates from my hometown, I told my lifelong friend, Ann, about our e-mail devotion program, and how I had used an experience related by one of our classmates to illustrate a point. I sent her a printed copy, and when she wrote back to let me know she’d enjoyed it, she enclosed this parable with permission to use it if I wished. Ann and I grew up together, and I remember her mother so well — warm, friendly, energetic, ready and able to serve her church and community. She lived well into her 90’s, and was an inspiration to me, as she e-mailed devotions to her adult children and grandchildren on a regular basis.
Mother’s Day is so very commercialized, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a little time to appreciate all the Mom-like people who have contributed to our lives. Even when those we love so dearly are gone from this world, through the gift of faith, we are given a message of hope and the promise of eternity.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers