“Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her happy;
her spouse too, who praises her:
‘Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.’
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:25-30
[There are all kinds of people in the world, and a wide diversity of relationships. God has created us, blesses us, and knows us as individuals. We can celebrate some without denigrating others. This week we have celebrated health care workers, teachers, and military spouses. This weekend we celebrate mothers. What if we spent all of our time looking for things to celebrate in each person?!]
“What are those?” I asked the air as Bugs Bunny pulled out a sheet of what looked like tickets.
“Ration coupons,” my mother replied as she passed through the living room.
“Huh?”
“Hold on.” She turned around and went to the hall closet. When she returned she was kind enough to wait until the next commercial break. Then she pulled out a sheet of stamps, each one bearing the word “Coffee.” “During the war this is how we got the basics. Many things were rationed, and you got your share by tearing off this coupon. We used up all of our ration coupons except for coffee.”
Thus began a long discussion of the Great Depression, World War II, and how people coped.
Reflecting on my mother this week, I realized that she would have rocked this pandemic. I am certain that she would have, as author of wisdom here writes, “laugh[ed] at the time to come.” I can hear her chuckling, “Oh you think this is bad?!”
Mom recycled before it was a thing, made or patched our clothing, and could stretch proteins to the max. (I feel her approving glance as I turn the carcass of a chicken into soup stock). She could make a game out of mundane work, and knew how to entertain herself – and us – without the benefit of the internet. She wasn’t perfect, and she struggled with clinical depression. But her experience as a child of the Great Depression allowed her to meet every challenge with strength and dignity.
I imagine you can think of someone who would have been able to thrive in this time. Let their memory bring you guidance, hope, strength and peace. Or maybe you will be that person for another. Or perhaps, just maybe, this time in the crucible will give you a new perspective on all that may come, and in some future day you will be able to say, “This is how we made it through….”
Thank you, God, for fierce mothers! Thank you for their tenacity, grit, humor, patience, strength, and abiding hope. Help us to understand that this comes from the example of your fierce love for us. When we are afraid or without hope, rock us in your arms. When we are off course, nudge us back on to the path. When we would harm another, stand in the gap and tell us to change our ways. We are so blessed to be your children. We pray this in the name of your child, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
Pastor George