| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| natesgirl |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 2:26:06 PM
Invisible Mother.....
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devoured - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, “Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.
No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, not all the baseball games you went to, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.
This made me cry!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| MamaRhi |
Posted - Dec 20 2010 : 08:08:30 AM
Thank you for sharing that. My daughter is hitting preteen hormones and is very difficult. For the first time in 12 years of parenting, I've hit a point where I have actually thought "I don't want to be the mom anymore." I needed to read this too.
Single Mama living her off-the-grid dream life...
http://www.suomisidhe.etsy.com
http://www.gypsymamarhi.blogspot.com/ |
| knittingmom |
Posted - Dec 15 2010 : 11:46:54 AM
thanks for sharing that, it's just what I needed this week
"There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world" |
| hwright95 |
Posted - Dec 11 2010 : 3:49:03 PM
An amazing message and so true. Needed that tonite.
Thanks for posting
Heather Wright~ Farmgirl Sister #2187 Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. ~Veronica A. Shoffstall
www.vintagekarmajewels.com |
| Cherime |
Posted - Dec 09 2010 : 11:53:56 AM
Wonderful posting. I am so thankful that there is a God who knows all.
CMF |
| Lida |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 6:37:08 PM
Angela,
Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful message.
Lida |
| gypsy goat |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 11:53:04 AM
that was just wonderful-thanks for sharing that. sometimes i feel like that,especially as my boys get older and start drawing away from me. but every once in awhile they let me see the softer side of them and i know they still love and need me(for more than clean laundry!)
farmgirl#1362 whatever you are be a good one-abe lincoln |
| star-schipp |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 10:59:27 AM
Angie, absolutely beautifully written...thank you, so much. You are such a giving and caring person and I witnessed that first hand in the class we took together. You so generously shared your knowledge with me and all you knew about me was that I was another farmgirl. I'm so glad to know YOU!
We can do no great things; only small things with great love - Mother Teresa
Star - farmgirl sister #1927
Master Food Preserver |
| maggie14 |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 09:32:15 AM
This is beautiful! Thank you soo much for sharing it Angela!
Hugs,
Hannah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Lifes not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.
Just a small town country girl, farmgirl,loggergirl, trying to live her dreams. :)
P.s. I've been playing around with the spelling of my name ( weird I know) and I've decided that I will stick with Hannah for good. Sorry I got you all confused. Hugs!! |
| Marcy |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 09:31:22 AM
Angela,
Thanks so much for sharing this. I'm sure there are a lot of us farmgirls who can relate so deeply to what this has to say. I know that I can.
Farmgirl #170
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give...Eleanor Roosevelt
http://marcysworldofcreativity.blogspot.com/ |
| sue5901 |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 04:40:32 AM
Thanks for this it is beautiful - I'm going to share it with my daughter - her son is only 18months so far too young to understand what she does for him. Hopefully it will help her to see the long term perspective when he refuses her lovingly prepared supper.
Dance like nobody's watching! |
| Fiddlehead Farm |
Posted - Dec 08 2010 : 04:16:58 AM
Angela, I posted this same thing back on Mother's Day! It is beautiful and so true. Thanks for sharing it again, I enjoy it every time I read it.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
| Bonnie Ellis |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 6:00:46 PM
Angela: All mothers are where you are right now. That was very touching. But some day when your children are grown, the praise will come. The hugs, the thanks and they remember it all. I know, I have two boys now in their fourties. It was all worth it. Love. That's what we're here for.
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
| medievalcat |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 5:19:51 PM
oh my.. how beautifully written.. I'm in tears. I was lamenting to a co-worker today how my kids just know breakfast will be there in the morning. Two high school students and a 10 yr old I'm homeschooling. They just know that they can roll into the kitchen after they have had time to fix their hair, pick out nice clothes, put away anything from the night before and wallah cooked eggs and toast waiting! Meanwhile I'm running late for work and I can't find my keys..and ..and... and then I read this.
Thanks for giving me a new perspective.
Cynthia |
| peebs |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 4:53:59 PM
Thank you Angela, for posting this. I really needed this today. It's so funny how God works; just when you think no one else understands, he brings something or someone your way that knows exactly how you feel.
Thanks  |
| Prairie Gypsy |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 3:53:34 PM
That was awesome. Thanks for posting it.
Farmgirl Sister # 2363
http://twilightburrough.blogspot.com/
Warren, MI
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| rough start farmgirl |
Posted - Dec 07 2010 : 2:49:51 PM
Thank you for sharing this. I enjoyed it so much.
Marianne |
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