Repaying Mother

The poem “Lanyard” speaks to every individual who has had a loving mother. It evokes memories in all of us of the ridiculous gifts we gave our moms that seemed to mean so much to them. It draws all of us in and invites us to look back to see the truth about our mothers’ love.

I remember when I was young how I used to admire so greatly the professional hallmark cards. To me they seemed like such a great gift for my mother’s birthday because they were far beyond the artistic beauty that I could have ever mustered. But my Dad told my siblings and I to make a card for our mother instead. I remember thinking at the time that my dad just did not want to spend the money, which may have been partially true, but the impact that the homemade card had on my mother was much more significant than hallmark could ever have created. It seemed as though all of the pain of child bearing, all the sacrifice for our comfort, and all the gifts she gave us were all worth that moment. All her love to us was returned in that one act of ours. It was as if the magnitude of all she had done for us was given back to her in the same measure, just as Matthew 4:24 says, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

This poem really just made me reflect on the love of a mother. With selflessness she toils and endures pain for her children. Her acts of love are innumerable. Yet because of the selfless nature of that love, she expects nothing in return. To her a score of 100-0 appears even. So when something is given in return, she feels as though she has received a gift and is blessed far more than the children she blesses. This also made me think of the selfless love of Christ. Because of the nature of his grace, nothing we can do for Him is sufficient to repay Him, but He doesn’t care – He just loves us.