She speaks wise words. And she teaches others to be kind. She watches over her family. And she is always busy. Her children bless her. Her husband also praises her. Proverbs 31:26-28 (ICB)
Nathan knocked softly on Emily’s door. The hallway was dark but a sliver of light spilled out from under her door. They had agreed before going to bed last night that they would both get up early to get Mom’s Mother’s Day gift ready and fix her breakfast. Emily opened the door and they quietly moved the stuff in Emily’s closet to reveal the flowers in gaily decorated pots that had been hidden there.
Several weeks ago, Nathan had come to Emily with an idea for Mother’s Day. Why not grow their own flowers for Mom and put them in specially decorated pots? Emily had enthusiastically agreed and the two had talked Grandpa into taking them to the nursery for special clay pots and seeds. They had chosen Zinnias and Snapdragons because the man at the nursery said they would grow fairly quickly. It hadn’t been an easy task to keep the pots hidden from Mom. They needed sunlight during the day and Emily had fixed up a special hiding place behind her desk where the seeds would get some sun during the day when they were at school. Since Emily often had soccer practice after school, it was Nathan’s job to water the pots when he got home and put them back into the closet. The plan had worked pretty well except for that one time that Mom had almost caught him in Emily’s closet. That was a close one!
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Brother and sister worked as a team, just as they had for weeks. It was a good feeling for both of them; to be working together instead of arguing and fighting all the time. Even Mom had noticed how much nicer they were to each other and how the fights and arguments had pretty much disappeared. She had sent up a thank You to the Lord, little knowing that He was working through her children to bless her on this special day.
Emily got the pink and yellow ribbon out of her drawer and Nathan wrapped the pots and tied bows on them. When they had everything the way they wanted, they put the clay pots in a little box and tucked their special card between them. They headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast, taking the little box with them.
When Mom came downstairs, she saw the table set with the best dishes and the box with the pots of Zinnias and Snapdragons. Emily and Nathan stood sheepishly by the kitchen stove, ready to dish out their special breakfast. With tears welling in her eyes, she drew them both close and thanked them for the special gift.
“Open the card, Mom,” Nathan said.
Mom carefully unfolded the hand-made card that the kids had decorated with flower stickers. Inside she read,
“Dear Mom,
We have grown these special flowers all by ourselves just for you. You always talk about how we are treasures in jars of clay and we wanted to give you your own treasures in jars of clay. We know that this time has been hard for you and that we haven’t made it any easier. But because of your love and your prayers for us, we are growing into beautiful treasures, just like these flowers. Thank You for loving us and praying for us and for Dad. You are the best mom anyone could have.
Love, Nathan and Emily.”
Brother and sister knew that the tears were coming but they didn’t mind. They knew that these were happy tears and they knew that their gift was very special to their mom. Almost as special as her gift to them.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. Provers 31:30-31 (NLT)
God bless
A Stander in Nebraska
