Honoring moms on Mother’s Day is not enough. The experience of carrying a child and giving birth to a human being is indescribable unless you are a mom. Mothers around the world sacrifice throughout their lives to provide for their children’s needs. But the greatest need of a child is the need to be loved and accepted, which most moms do well.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:1-3 (NLT) Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” The verb to honor means to “to hold in honor or high respect,” to “venerate and esteem.” Although we celebrate mothers one day of the year, we (children) must honor our mother and father daily. This is one of the only commandments from the Bible that comes with a promise of long life on earth.
This month, I want to celebrate my own mother and will share a little bit of her background. She was born in Leon, Nicaragua. Her father passed away days after she was born, and her mom (my grandmother) raised eleven children on her own. My mom married my father, a native of Managua, and they had six children. 2024 marks their 60th anniversary!
Life has been difficult for both my parents. They survived several natural disasters such as the earthquake in Nicaragua in 1972. They lived through the two-year revolution that culminated in June 1979 with them losing all their properties. They fled to the Dominican Republic where two months later encountered Hurricane David which devastated the island. Moved to America in 1986 sending one kid at a time until it was their turn and the family reunited after one year of being apart.
Although they had their working visas and eventually became American citizens, life in the United States as immigrants was very hard. After several years they moved back to Nicaragua to recover the properties taken by the government after the revolution. They never recovered the properties. They only received government bonds worth a fifth of their value. Nevertheless, they lived in Nicaragua for over twenty years until recently. Two years ago, we (the children) moved them back to the United States where they can be at peace and no longer live in fear.
Someday I may write a book about my family’s story. But today I want to thank my parents for always loving me and for introducing me and my siblings to Jesus. My mom has always been strong in her faith. She never gives up, is hard working, and has never blamed God for anything that life has thrown at them. Seeing her example of faith has strengthened mine over the years.
If you still have your mom on this earth, I encourage you to tell her with words that you love her and appreciate her. Our parents need to hear us say it. If you can visit your mom and give her a hug to show her support during this season in her life, do it. If you have an adoptive mom, love her, thank her, and appreciate her!
Here is to all the moms! Happy Mother’s Day!
Gracias mama, te quiero mucho!