Soon we’ll celebrate Mothers Day and being with my sister for the last couple days has given me evidence of how important my own mom was to us.  I can see her in my sister’s beauty, her strong work ethic, her delightful personality and sense of humor – her emotional support of her family and her steely determination in all she does.  She has passed those things down to her daughter’s as I believe I have done with mine.  Those attributes come from a long line of steel magnolias on our family tree.
At the root of that tree, we have also been nourished with the living water of God.  He was there at our baptism as He filled us with the breath of His Holy Spirit.  He continued to prune away the dead branches which caused us to lose hope at times – to lack confidence – to wither and succumb to age and every day living.  He renewed us through the gift of His Son and continues to be at the helm when things get tough.
There will always be things to test us in this life, but when we allow God to work His plan, we can be assured of passing those tests. They are designed to make us stronger.
Thanks, mom, for the blessed gift of my sister.  Together we have inherited the best of both you and dad.  Thanks too for bringing us to faith so many years ago?