I don't have pictures. It would not have been appropriate, snapping them from the pulpit area. I wish that it had been possible. Let me just try to describe what I saw.
A young-looking grandmother holding a beautiful little girl dressed in a white dress. Next to her, in her Daddy's lap, was a second little beauty. Seeing the five of them, Mother included, was a great snapshot for my mental album.
An older grandmother sitting with one daughter. She and her husband have five other grown children. The Dad is living in a nursing home. She goes to see him each day, but this morning she is in church.
A Mother who works in the nursery. Afflicted for many years with MS this dear one finds her way to the church to watch and care for little children. She is brought and leaves in a wheelchair. (So what's your excuse?)
A Mother who is not allowed to see a new grand-baby by her only child. How can one be so cruel and thoughtless? He was raised a different way, but events changed him, so his way to "get even" is in this kind of act. That makes for a painful day for this faithful Mother.
The grandest picture of all: A widowed Mother, and dear,dear friend, sitting between her two grown sons. These men left the cities where they live and work successfully, to sit with Mother at church on this special day. Their own families, left behind for a time, know and understand.
There were some who sat alone. Events and miles make such meetings difficult. Other reasons come into play. The pictures of each one of them is also in my mental album.
Snapshots from the pulpit on Mother's Day 2011.
Ann and I stood at the back of the auditorium and gave each mother and daughter a long-stem red rose. What a treat it was for us! Mother's Day , May 8, 2011.
