Celebrating Motherly Love this Mother's Day

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Published on Saturday, 08 May 2010 20:50

Submitted by Johnny Tan

As children we appreciate being reminded days ahead, if not weeks before, that the coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. Many of us look forward to this day with great anticipation as it gives us the opportunity to express our love and our gratitude to our moms - with a special gift from the heart. However, for some of us, this reminder may not be as thrilling because it reminds us of the bruises and scars we had experienced as a child years ago.  

Regardless of which group you fall into, you may not realize this but we all have several moms in our life. The first mom is obviously our birth mom, and the others are women who have already contributed or will soon be richly contributing to our well being as our mentors and counselors. They are the ones that are always available and are always happy to help us with the things we needed the most, and with the one thing we don’t always know yet we need.  

In my weekly radio program (From My Mama’s Kitchen Talk Radio) I recently kicked off our month-long Mother’s Day Celebration theme. Although I say it is a month long, in actuality it is going to be three months long. Yes, that is correct - three months long!

The reason being, when I did a query last month looking for some interesting Mother’s Day stories I did not realize I was going to get so many heartfelt, soul moving stories to choose from. After much internal debate I decided to pick the thirteen very best heart warming stories that simply had to be told.

I divided these wonderful tales into three categories to discuss over the next three months. The themes are: for May - Motherly Love from a Mom’s perspective; for June - The Experience of Motherly Love from a Child’s perspective; and for July - Mother and Child sharing their Motherly Love experiences.

From stories about “Operation Babylift” - the largest humanitarian initiative our United States government ever undertook in foreign adoptions, to delivering Hope as a surrogate mom, a son’s tribute to his single mom who raised him by herself, a daughter’s Emmy award winning songs expressing her mother’s love, and moms who finally came to terms and realized that “hey I am now a mom, and I need to be more...” will all be covered in the next three months.

Reflecting on these great stories, I realize that none would have taken place if not for “Motherly Love” in our varied lives. As an adopted child from birth, having had the opportunity to be mothered by eight other incredible women over the years, I have to confess that perhaps I am spoiled by the love and attention I have received from my nine moms. They all had a part in moulding my soul and guiding my heart.

Earlier this year, just days after celebrating her 92nd birthday, my Progressive and Spiritual mom, Elsa Mae Stevens, peacefully passed on. Although I was not present during her final hours, I was glad we were able to share some happy memories together a week earlier on her last birthday.

Elsa Mae, who I have known for 23 years, has never forgotten to make that one call every year. She is the only mom who calls me right after midnight on my birthday to wish me “a Happy Birthday.”

In the many words of wisdom she imparted to me, one will always be part of my very being.

According to her, “In a real-life situation, happiness is always felt by the heart rather than thought of by the mind. Although we can choose to be happy, we still need to feel happy. When we approach everything in life with a heartfelt passion, we are putting the human factor into the equation. By just doing this, the energy of humanness will take over and create a synergy of respect, love, and understanding.”

Elsa Mae taught me to live life by balancing the right amount of heart and mind in everything I do. She said, “Although bruises and scars may remind us where we have been, they certainly do not dictate our future.”

She continued by saying, “It is always pleasing when we do something good for ourselves, however, that good deed dies with us. On the other hand, when we do something good for someone else, it not only feels good to ourselves, it lives on as a legacy in the memory of those whose hearts we touched.”

On this Mother’s Day - Elsa Mae Stevens, your legacy lives on!

I love you and may God’s eternal light shine ever so bright upon you in heaven.


Johnny Tan
Author and Talk Show Host
From My Mama’s Kitchen - “food for the soul, recipes for living”
FromMyMamasKitchen.com

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