Another Mother's Day has come and gone but, actually, every day is Mother's Day because, as the old saying goes, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." Mothers know that children are influenced by what they see and hear, starting in the home.

They know the following: If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. But if a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient; If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident; If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate; If a child lives with fairness, he learns about justice; If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. In essence, if a child lives with acceptance and love, he finds love and acceptance in the world. Not one of us came into this world without a mother.

As Barbara Duke of The Baptist Press said, "In these days of abortion on demand, motherhood is a conscious decision by a woman to enter into that Godlike act of loving sacrifice to participate with the God of all creation to bring new life into the world." Like most of you, as I have previously stated, I was blessed with a truly loving mother who sacrificed so much to provide for my well-being on every level, and that provision began on Day One. We lived in a rather isolated area in the country in South Carolina, and the doctor who was to conduct my delivery was late in arriving, so that my mother and I were the only ones present for my birth. The doctor arrived later and was amazed at the strength and courage my mother had displayed, but she viewed it as something any other mother would have done in that situation.

My mother is in Heaven now, but the blessings have kept coming, with God blessing me with a truly wonderful and precious wife, My Emma, who is now also in Heaven and with whom I will be reunited one wonderful day. It is also comforting to know that our daughter Jessica and our sons Reece and Jason grew up in a loving home and extended that unconditional love to their children. We are also thankful for our daughters-in-law, Lisa and Christie, for the wondrous motherly love they provide every day. May God bless and strengthen Mothers everywhere.

Now to close on a humorous note: At NC State there were four sophomores taking Organic Chemistry. They did so well on all the quizzes and labs that each had an "A" so far for the Semester. These four friends were so confident, that the weekend before Finals they decided to go up to the University of Virginia and party with some friends. They had a great time.

However, after all the hard-partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Raleigh until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the Finals then, they decided to find their Professor after the Finals and explain to him why they missed it. They told him they had gone to the University of Virginia for the weekend with plans to return Sunday to study but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get help for a long time.

As a result, they missed the Final. The professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up the Final the following day. The students were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor told them. He placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem worth 5 points. It was something simple about Free Radical Formation. "Cool," they thought at the same time, each one in his separate room, "This is going to be easy." Each finished that problem and then turned the page.

On the second page was written: For 95 points: Which tire?