I love my Mom. I’m extremely fortunate and blessed to have such an awesome person in my life.
While I could write a very long book – easily hardcover and coffee-table worthy – about my Mom, for now I just want to focus on a single thing that I appreciate about her.
First, let me set the stage so it makes the most sense.
KEEPING IT REAL
My Mom is real. As real as a person can possibly be. Very few people I have met in my life are as true to themselves as she is.
Of course, that led to some embarrassment when I was a kid, or in high school…but I learned to appreciate it. It’s truly refreshing. She’s crazy, she’s saintly, and she’s unforgettable.
JESUS
That said, a very large part of who she is, is a person who loves Jesus. She knows the man upstairs in a more real way than I think pretty much anybody I’ve ever met.
It used to be that she’d be looking for an answer to something, let’s say she lost her keys. She’d pray, immediately get a mind picture of where they were, and after finding them there, say, “God sent me a fax and told me where they were!” Now He sends her emails. Or SMS.
Who am I to argue, right? The good Lord works in mysterious ways.
But it’s more than just that. She knows her Creator in a deep way. In a way that challenges my spirituality to the core.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
So, with that framework, the aspect of my Mom’s character that I want to show my gratitude for today is her willingness to let me question. To question anything and everything.
See, it takes a very secure person in their beliefs and in who they are to let people they love and feel strong responsibility for, question the very essence of their existence, to question the foundation of their beliefs.
My Mom never wavered. While simply questioning the Bible or anything spiritual was borderline heresy to my dad, my Mom has always listened respectfully, offered her opinion, been available for discussion, and then I’m sure retreated to her “prayer closet” to pray for her challenging son.
EVOLUTION
My big thing for most of my adult life has been evolution. I love the word “evolve”. It’s so rich, so inspiring, so simple and yet so profoundly complex.
My Mom can’t stand the word, because of its connotations in opposition to Christianity (you know, the whole ‘Creation vs. Evolution’ debate). And yet, she is evolutionary herself, because she continually has sought to learn, to grow, and to evolve herself. Even if she wouldn’t use that word.
So while we might disagree on silly things like the inherent nature of words, we agree on the important fundamental principle of Life: maximize yourself and use every bit of potential that you have.
And so, even though Mom doesn’t always agree with my ideas or beliefs, even though I’m sure her friends think I’m “backslidden” or a host of other terms, she’s been consistent in her own beliefs and in the person that she claims to be. She’s been real.
And in that realness, she’s continually been a person who encourages me to seek answers, not someone who shoots down my questions. She’s been open to discuss things, to look at the world through different points of view, and even to listen to questions of the very foundation her values are based on.
And that, I think, is the most responsible thing that a parent or spiritual elder can do. Encourage questioning. Encourage seeking. Encourage growth.
SEEKING & FINDING
I’ve never taught someone else something, without learning a thing or two myself, in the process. It doesn’t matter if they’re 6 years old or 60, if they’re seeking and desiring to learn, wow! We’ll have an awesome relationship.
Because life’s all about learning.
And I think Mom knows within herself that at the end of the day, if she’s really confident in her beliefs and if she’s right, then I’m going to find the Truth. Right? Because that’s all I’m seeking. Truth.
Things which are real, things which are right. A being A.
MOM: THANK YOU
So thank you, Mom. Thanks for listening to my questions growing up, and for letting me question, while pointing me in the direction that you believed was right.
Thanks for listening to my philosophizing these days, for questioning me about the tenets of my beliefs, but for letting me be me.
And perhaps most of all, thanks for not being one of those stuffy, closed-minded Christians who believe that asking questions is a trait of the devil, or who believe that personal growth isn’t possible from any source outside the B-I-B-L-E.
Your foundation is solid, Mom, and yet you’ve been a great example to me in that you continue to learn new things, continue to increase your knowledge of humanity and of your own self, and with such childlike excitement!
I know you won’t like the word, but you’re truly an evolutionary person. You’re someone who is working on strengthening her weaknesses, and maximizing her strengths. And that’s a priceless motivation and example for your son.
I love you.
Joshua David
