Issue Topic: Mary (VALUE)
Sub-topic: Mary as a Mother of Christ (Mother’s Love)
2 pages/699 words
By Lovella Bargas
The hospital room was quiet and cool. At three in the morning, all was silent, and nothing could be heard, save for the soft beeps emanating from the heart monitor attached to the young girl.
At the side of the young girl’s hospital bed, her mother was seated, having dozed off in a light sleep. Emma had stayed in the hospital since the first day her young daughter, Jenny, was confined. She never left her daughter’s bedside, sick with worry over the welfare of her daughter.
A soft purr woke Emma up. It had come from her daughter. Jenny’s eyelids fluttered before opening, and she offered a weak smile at her mother. Emma stood up, and brushed aside her daughter’s hair off her forehead. “It’s okay, sweetie, you’re going to be just fine,” she murmured, gently squeezing her daughter’s hand. Jenny’s eyes softly closed again, as she fell back to sleep.
Emma closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer of thanks. It had been three days since Jenny’s accident. Jenny had been playing happily in their backyard one sunny afternoon, and was busy climbing the big old mango tree. Up there in the branches, Jenny unfortunately lost her footing and came crashing down the tree, landing on her leg and breaking it in the process. The doctors said that there was no need to worry, and that Jenny would soon be able to walk, after having her leg placed in a cast. However, Jenny still needed to stay in the hospital for further observation, to make sure that the healing process would go well.
Emma had been sick with worry. She was with her daughter that particular afternoon. She and her husband, Richard, were with their daughter when the accident happened. They were busy barbecuing some meat for dinner. Jenny was a skilled tree climber, she knew each and every branch like the palm of her hand. Both Emma and Richard did not see any reason to worry, after all, Jenny must have climbed that tree for over a hundred times already. Yet and still, the unfortunate accident happened, and Emma blamed herself for being too pliant, having been caught off guard.
Seeing her daughter in pain was the worst experience she ever suffered. She steeled herself as she tried to comfort and ease her daughter’s pain as each heart- wrenching cry stabbed her soul. She had to remain strong for her daughter, she told herself, and thus, she held her daughter as she waited for the ambulance to take them to the hospital.
Now, Jenny was declared to be safe and to be recovering fast. Emma never failed to offer a prayer of thanksgiving and praise, in gratitude for the second chance that had been given to her. “So this is what it means to be a mother,” she thought. Yes, motherhood sure is more than changing diapers and feeding babies, it meant loving the children whom you yourself brought into this world, wholeheartedly. It meant laughing as they laughed, learning as they do, suffering as they suffered. Looking at her daughter, Emma again offered a prayer of thanksgiving, for the wonder and the blessing that is her daughter: her own life and blood, a true miracle.
REFLECTION:
The love of a mother for her child is unparalleled. After a woman carries her child in her womb for nine months, she gives birth in a glorious experience which mixes intense pain with an indescribable feeling of bliss. As the children of our mothers, we should take the time to show that we appreciate the love they have shown us and all the sacrifices they have made for us.
IN THE BIBLE:
…and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed”. (Luke 2:34-35)
SIDEBAR:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? As she may never forget, so will I not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15)
IMAGE SOURCE:
"Motherhood." Web log post. Bits and Bytes of Life. 11 May 2007. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.
