At Every Beck and Call

Tumbling down the stairs in slow motion… sliding, falling, knees and elbows banging painfully off the bannister. Coming to a jumbled stop at the bottom of the stairs, I lift my head and howl, “Mommyyyy!”

Running for the bathroom in the middle of the night, kicking my feet free from entangling sheets, staggering in the darkness to hunch over the porcelain bowl, and I whimper, “Mommm!!”

Staring at a confusing mess of math problems rampaging across the pages of my math book, I hurl down my pencil and yell, “Mo-om?”

Headfirst in my closet, digging, rummaging, searching, clothing dangling off hangers and lying in piles. “Mom!”

Rushing home from the post office, waving a letter from one of my sponsored children, and I holler, “Mom! Mom!! Mom!!!”

Even now, fumbling through my recipe book, looking for non-existent instructions, I pick up the phone and punch in her number. “Mom?”

I’m sure there were plenty of times she got tired of running at my beck and call… but nevertheless, she was always there. Is always there. We who have moms take it for granted sometimes, that our moms are always just around the corner or a phone call away, to act as nurse, doctor, teacher, cook, taxi, and playmate… but let’s not forget the sacrifices that they make, to be all those things to us. The times when they want time to themselves, the times when they are tired, sick, hungry, or just frazzled, yet they still put us first.

Moms of the world, we salute you!

And to my own sweet special mother, a million thanks!!

Did you know you can help a Mom and baby in need? Click HERE to support a Child Survival Program through Compassion International!

April Anamneses

That’s a pretty cool word isn’t it? Anamneses ? It means, “Recollections or remembrances of the past.” I love playing with words…

Anyways, on to this months’ letters! I got three letters, all from Mbula! Two were actually duplicates of a thank you letter he wrote; one was the rough copy, with words crossed out and spelling errors fixed, and the other was the actual thank-you letter. Both letters included the same two photographs, but the rough copy contained much bigger and better quality photos, so I was pleased with that!

I’ve already posted about Mbula’s thank you letter, but I’ll share one of the photos again here for anyone who hasn’t seen it… this is the first time I’ve ever seen my boy smile!

Anyways, the third letter I received from him started with a sweet greeting, “Let me take this golden chance to say “hi” to you.” (Eloquent!) He then greeted me and told me how he is doing, as well as adding, “I greatly appreciate the pictures you always send me.”

We’d been having a discussion about gardening, with me asking what types of crops his family grows, and telling him about my mother growing carrots in her garden. He responded by telling me they grow maize and beans, but do not actually grow carrots because of the “climatic conditions that are facing our land.” He added that they usually buy carrots “for human consumption”.

Mbula’s studies are going well, and he told me how he thanks both the Lord and me for providing for him. He requests continuing prayers for his studies, and said that he hopes the Lord blesses me, protects me, and “expands my territories!” (I may have to write a letter about the Prayer of Jabez soon!)

Have you received any exciting letters from your kids this month?