Prayer for My Mother
Dear God,
Now that I am no longer young,I have friends whose mothers have passed away.I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them.
I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive.I appreciate her more each day.My mother does not change,but I do.As I grow older and wiser,I realize what an extraordinary1) person she is.How sad that I am unable to speak these words in her presence2),but they flow easily from my pen.
How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself?For the love,patience and just plain3) hard work that go into raising a child?For running after a toddler,for understanding a moody teenager,for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the day when a daughter realizes her mother really is?
How does a grown woman thank for a mother for continuing to be a mother?For being ready with advice(when asked)or remaining silent when it is most appreciated?For not saying:“I told you so”,when she could have uttered4) these words dozens of times?For being essentially5) herself --loving,thoughtful,patient,and forgiving6)?
I don't know how,dear God,except to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set.I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.
A daughter
□by Ann Landers