Reece Gardner: Mothers are God's gift to us

Memories, memories! I was only 5 years of age, but I remember that night walking back home with my mother and older sister after having visited with a neighbor. As we walked along that dark and dusty road, I began to feel a bit anxious. 

But then my mother reached down and held my hand and my fears went away. In all my life both before and since then, I have never felt more secure and safe than I did at that moment. It was an early recognition on my part of the wondrousness and power of a mother's love. 

As Barbara Drake of The Baptist Press said, "In these days of  abortion on demand, motherhood is a conscious, deliberate decision by a woman to enter into that noble, Godlike act of loving sacrifice to participate with the God of all creation to bring new life into the world." 

Like most of you, I was blessed with a truly loving mother who sacrificed so much to provide for my well-being on every level, as she also did for my 11 brothers and sisters. I never heard her complain. Her love and devotion for all of us was evident throughout her lifetime. 

I will always be thankful she lived long enough for me to have some awareness of just how wonderful she was. On one Mother's Day, in an effort to show my appreciation to her, I wrote this verse on a card I sent to her: “Who ran to catch me when I fell, and would some pretty story tell, and kiss the place to make it well, My mother. An infant when her love first came, a man I found it just the same, reverently I breathe her name, the precious name of Mother." 

My mother is in heaven now, but the blessings have kept coming, with God blessing me with a wonderful and truly precious wife, My Emma, whom I miss more than words can tell. She was the leader in making our house a home, always giving unconditional love to me and to our children and grandchildren. 

To her, it was all about love, and I am looking forward to the day when we will be together again. 

It is also a comfort to know our daughter, Jessica, and our sons, Reece and Jason, grew up in a loving home and have extended that unconditional love to their children. This column is being published after Mother's Day, but to me every day is Mother's Day, because motherhood is one of God's greatest gifts to humanity. 

A loving mother is an indispensable person in our development. It is principally from our mothers that we learn the virtues of sacrifice, sharing, and compassion. May God abundantly bless all mothers.

Now, to close on a humorous note: God created Adam on the sixth day. After a few weeks, he checks upon his creation. 

He sees Adam dejected and sad. 

"What is wrong, my son?” God asks.

"Well," Adam said, "The Garden of Eden is beautiful, and I want for nothing. And yet I am lonely and sad."

"Don't be sad, my child,” God said. “I have just the creation for you. Her name is Eve and she will take care of you with the utmost patience, sweetness, and forbearance. I am sure you will then be truly happy." 

Adam said, "That sounds very nice, but what is the catch?" 

God answered, "It will cost you your right arm and right leg." 

Adam paused and then said, "That's a bit much. What can I get for a rib?" 

Have a wonderful day!