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VIEWPOINT
Finding the Mother in Me appeared in Christianity Today and was
written by Dandi Mackall.
“It was the most dreaded
day of the year. What
did the minister say first when he got to the microphone? ‘Happy
Mother's Day.’
“For seven years I'd
wanted children and prayed for children. Mother's
Day underscored what felt like my failure to become a mom.
“In church, when all the
mothers were asked to stand so we could pray for them, my pain came
to a head. I knew women
were standing who'd never wanted to become mothers. I'd
heard other women complain regularly about the burdens of
motherhood. Yet there
they stood, and there I sat. Mother's
Day hurt.
“Sometime later I began
helping an inner-city church in Chicago, where I taught a small
Sunday school class of junior high students. One
girl, Tanya, belonged to a gang and brought me to wit's end dozens
of times during the year. That
Sunday, I'd spent half our class time trying to get Tanya to stop
punching the other girls.
“Tanya didn't stay for
church. But as she slipped out the back door, she called to me over
her shoulder, ‘See you around, Mom!’ She
laughed and made her exit. But
before she turned away, I caught her eye. She
meant what she said. In
some way, I was like a mother to that strong-willed girl who liked
to act so tough.
“I started actively
praying for children who needed someone to act like a mother to
them.
“That Sunday, God gave
me a glimpse of an extraordinary calling: I
could be a surrogate mother to people who need the love I have to
give! He could give me
spiritual children.
“I started actively
praying for children who needed someone to act like a mother to them. As
soon as I opened my heart, my mind began filling with possibilities.
“There was one seventh-grade boy in my class who needed someone
to talk to. Another
classmate, Rosa, came to Sunday school only twice. But I remembered
to pray for Rosa ‘like a mother’ long after she left.
“Telling my Sunday school kids I loved them didn't go far enough.
I had to show it. So
I took them to the zoo. Sunday
afternoons we played softball in the park. One
girl started showing up before Wednesday night prayer meetings so I
could help her with her math homework.
“Several times Tanya stopped coming to my class. Each
time, I went looking for her. And every time Tanya was amazed that I
wanted her back.”
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I
am thankful for my mother, as well as all the “extra mothers”
who have loved and encouraged me!
I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile,
and a positive word!
RA
I
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