What a mother sings in the cradle goes all the way to the coffin.” A quote from Henry Ward Beecher.
This is so true!!My mother understood and lived Proverbs 14:1,”The wise women builds her house….” and she built her house by living Proverbs 15:13,”A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” She modeled embracing each day with Joy and a Song.
My mother has impacted every area of my life. The way I dress, the way I think, the way I parent and countless other ways especially how I embrace each day. Almost everyday while I was growing up, especially during the school year, I woke up 3 or 4 times a week to hear my mother (who we call “THE ROCK”) sing to me and my sister, “This is the day the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it, whatever it brings there is song you can sing, you may get tired but don’t fret, nature is yawning a new day is dawning, the sun will be coming up soon, if there is a valley I’ll walk through it or a mountain I will climb it and wish the top of the morning to you.” Just writing this makes me cry because it was just the simple, corny, ordinary things that my parents did when I was growing up that MAJORLY influenced and had a significant impact on my life!! Daily, her song and its words taught me how to view my day, with joy and hope. Today at 51, as I sit and care for her failing body, I now sing this song to her. Sometimes she can’t form a smile on her face but I can see it(the smile) in her eyes.
This simple song and its words shaped my life. It was ingrained in my subconscious for life! As an adult, I can’t tell you how many times I wake up, being 2 1/2 hours away from my mom, and, without talking with her, this song is on my mind and I am singing it to myself. It still shapes my day. What an incredible gift she gave me!!! This is a short, very short, journal but understand this: The very simple, positive, inexpensive things you do for your children can and will have a LASTING SIGNIFICANCE!