Ramblings from Retirement – Take Time to Ponder

Ramblings from Retirement – Take Time to Ponder

By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen

May 9, 2021

Before the birth of her first child my daughter was kind of scared; you could see it in her eyes. She did not know what to expect but everything turned out fine and she gave birth to a sweet baby boy. During the birth of her second child she was a little bit late in heading to the hospital, called me to rush over, and I helped her give birth to her tiny daughter there on the floor of her apartment. Her husband was rushing home as fast as he could. Her son helped direct the EMS and firemen to where the baby was being born. After both births it was amazing how she cuddled and kissed each newborn.

My mother was not always what you would call a “loving” person however she would find the time to put together a picnic lunch, take us to the park, and tell us stories while eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the grass sitting on a blanket. As a young child she would have me sit next to her and make me read to her the comic books I loved to collect. In fact she taught me the importance of reading. Only having a seventh grade education she was constantly aware of her short comings concerning things like math or spelling. Yet she was a prolific writer and wrote all kinds of poems. She encouraged my artistry by finding scraps of blank paper from the grocery store, my father’s garage, school or any place she could scrounge some for me to draw on. I have cartoons drawn the backs of garage receipts, grocery bags, apple wrappers, and just about any other scrap of paper she could find for me to doddle or draw.

Mom was not a necessarily “cuddlier” either however she did hug us a lot but I do remember that she was a baker and she would bake homemade bread, cookies, and pies. I can still conjure up the aroma of my mother's baking bread as it came fresh out of the oven. And we would often come home from school to find her busy cleaning, reading, or cooking. She had no problem even being as poor as we were in baking cookies for the whole neighborhood gang of kids. As I think about my mother today on this Mother’s Day I am reminded of how Luke wrote about Jesus’ mother after the birth of her son Jesus. The shepherds had come and gone and it was only her and Joseph left with the baby Jesus. Luke writes “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19 NIV)” And isn’t that what mothers do? They ponder, wonder, and think about their children. About who they will become, what they might do in life, and what kind of character they will develop. Mothers ponder.

Dear child of the Lord, today as you think about your mother I do not know if she was a good mother or a poor mother or even if she was a bad mother, but she was your mom. I pray you remember her well and take time to ponder over her because I know she did over you at some point in your life.

This article is copyrighted © 2021 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.