Wonder!

Hello friends!  I hope that you have enjoyed these weeks of summer.  I have enjoyed a few weeks off to spend time with my family and escape into summer reading!  In July, a group of us gathered to share our thoughts about the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I highly recommend this book, especially for those of you who have children or grandchildren.

As a mother of five, one thing that really got to me in the book is how one of the characters felt kind of invisible compared to her brother who was born with a facial abnormality.  It really made me wonder how I may neglect my own children as I tend to the needs of their siblings, not to mention my insatiable desire to serve God’s people.  I wonder how I make others feel when I am so focused on completing a task that I fail to acknowledge someone right in front of me.  It reminded me how vital it is to make every person feel loved and important every day!

Wonder was a beautiful reminder to me of unconditional love which is possible when we look beyond what the eye can see.  When we see people with our heart we are able to see what lies within which gives us a glimpse of the face of God, for he is imprinted in each of our hearts.  Wonder reminded me that

^“ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.   It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails”.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I am sure that you have heard the saying, “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”  This is a saying that I have always taken to heart in regards to my own actions.  I strive to be my best self when meeting people for the first time, however, I do not always guard my words and actions.  I fail to be the face of Christ 24/7.  Anyone else feel that way?  R.J. Palacio really challenged me in Wonder to guard my words; to think before I speak.  I made the mistake again just yesterday by saying something that I should not have said and I looked around to see who may have heard me.  I hope that if anyone heard my less than nice comment that they give me a second chance to make a first impression!  I hope that I can remember to do the same for others.  What would the world be like if we could each remember that “love does not dishonor others.”  I wonder!

Shalom,

Tina

Sealed with The Spirit

On February 28 our youngest son was sealed by the spirit along with nine others young men and women of the church from St. William and young men and women of the church from St. Mary, Warren; St. Joseph, Mantua; St. Brendan, Youngstown; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Lowellville and St. Edward, Youngstown.

 

Nathan McCue affirming his faith
with his sponsor and Bishop Murray
2/28/16 at St. Columba Cathedral

As a sponsor for one of our young ladies, I was lucky enough to have a front row seat which enabled me to witness everyone one of these young men and women being sealed with the spirit.  It was a beautiful gift to be able to witness Bishop Murry signing their foreheads and shaking their hands to congratulate them for making this commitment to their faith.  As I watched each of these members of the young church approach the Bishop I could not help but wonder what God has in store for them as we sung out “Veni Sacte Spiritus” . . .Come Holy Spirit!  I can’t wait to see how they will continue to grow in faith and learn to become adult members of the church.

Now, I know I have shared with you before how I love the rituals of the Catholic Church!  The sights and sounds and smell!  I have to admit that I kind of freaked my son out a little bit because I kept smelling his forehead.  Even as I write these words I tear up and am covered with a chill that can only be the presence of the spirit with me!  This reminds me how we humans need tangible signs of God’s presence in our lives.  There is something about the smell of the chrism oil that brings me a sense of complete peace.  When I ponder that Christ himself was anointed with sacred oil I feel such a connection to him.  I am reminded that he loved me so much he became one of us.

The day after Confirmation, our Awakening Faith group gathered to explore the question, “Do I Really Need the Spirit?”  Oh – God’s timing that this session would fall the day after my sweet son was confirmed as: Nathan Charles Wolfgang!  Do I need the Spirit . . . A resounding YES!  One of the questions was “what powers you the most?”  Well, besides coffee, the first thing that came to my mind was the gift of working with the young church.  I am filled with wonder and awe as I watch young men and women come into ownership of their faith.  

This feeling was further affirmed for me yesterday as I listened to three previously confirmed young adults of St. William address the newly confirmed.  They shared what their faith has come to mean to them and how serving the church has brought them closer to God and brings them such joy in knowing that by answering God’s call, they are giving thanks to Him for the many gifts they have received.  

To quote Chandler,

     “God knows and loves us always, even when we do something wrong or let him down.  We are constantly showered in unconditional love.  Being involved in ministry makes me feel like I’m giving back for that love. We are all imperfect human beings, but we are also strong-willed and capable.  If we honor God for the sake of honoring him, we have already received every reward that matters in this life.  So I encourage you, give it a shot. Try anything, even if it’s just singing a little louder at Church on Sunday (and believe me, I’d appreciate that, too) or helping clean up the Church after a holiday.  Give a little back to the guy who gave us all.

     I hope that in my brief talk, you found something to relate to and take with you as you start your journey in the Church as adults.  I wish all of you the best of luck, love, and happiness.”

Thank you Olivia, Noah and Chandler for showing us the face of Christ!

May each of us be inspired by the challenge to “just give it a shot” and awaken our faith to serve our good and merciful God!

Shalom,

Tina

Broken

Have you ever felt broken in life or spread so thin that you don’t really know where you belong?  These feelings have been overwhelming me a little bit lately as I struggle with balancing full time work and family life.  As I type this, it kind of makes me feel a little bit ashamed because I have been so blessed throughout my life.  When I think of single mothers who work full time and struggle to put food on the table, I feel like a whimpering child and pray that God gives me the strength to snap out of it!!

When I take an honest look at the course of my life, I see a clear pattern of always trying to find balance between my desire to do for others and my desire to care for my own family.  I love my husband and children fiercely but if I am to be completely honest with myself, I realize that I put them on the back burner most of the time.  This fills me with such shame.  During this season of lent, it is this sin that I lay at the foot of the cross.

Lent is a time to search inward and see what patterns in our life draw us away from God.  This is a struggle for me because while I feel I serve God by serving others, I am equally neglecting those whom should come first in my life.  While one draws me toward God, the other pulls me away from God.  Have you ever felt this pull?  Please pray for me as I come to terms with patterns of selfishness and pride which put my need for serving others before serving my husband and children.  Today is my daughter’s 17^th birthday and I have filled it working in the morning, traveling to Cleveland to be with Brian and working in the evening.  I have heard it said that the best gift we can give someone is the gift of our presence.  While I prepared her birthday meal yesterday, today, I could not give her the smallest gift my presence.

You know, one song that keeps coming on the radio that I really need to hear is “Broken Together.”  It speaks of how while we are not perfect, the only way to get through life is being “broken together.”  It helps me cling on to hope that my family will love me in my brokenness – that they will know my love for them even when I am too busy to be present to them.  God I hope they know my love for them!

I pray that “God will help our broken hearts align.”

I pray that whatever pain you may be going through, that “healing may be spoken.”

Shalom,

Tina

Memories of Christmas 2014

Luke tells us that Mary “kept all these things in her heart.  And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.” Luke 2:52  I have been pondering this scripture verse quite a bit these past few days as I have been sorting through my memories of the past year ~ the first year of living without my mother on this earthly side of heaven.  This blog has been a vehicle through which I have been able to sort through my grief and I want you to know how thankful I am for the opportunity to share my thoughts concerning faith and spirituality, for this is the only lens through which I know how to view life.  As I have shared with you in the past, life experience is one of the ways in which we advance in wisdom and age.  With my Dad’s permission, I share with you some very intimate moments from the Christmas of 2014 because I know that many of you who will read this loved Rosie too!  If you are struggling through life, perhaps our experience can help you find favor with God.

December 19 and December 20 ~  My Mom was bound and determined despite her weakened state to have the Frazzini Italian Christmas feast of the 7 fishes in her home as it had been celebrated since her parents bought the home.  Sadly, I missed the celebration because I was celebrating with the McCue family.  I did have the honor though of playing “elf” for my Mom and chose cards for her to give her siblings, her nephews, her husband, her children.  I sat with her and watched her struggle with all of her might as she wrote what she knew would be her final words to her siblings.  Oh to watch that love and determination in her – what a gift it was to witness that love.  My sister, Roseann helped her with Dad’s and our sibling cards.  She asked Roseann to apply lipstick on her and she left her kiss on the card for Dad ~ such sweet love.

December 21 ~ I came home to find Mom in a more weakened state.  It soon became very clear to me that Mom may not make it to Christmas.  The next couple days are kind of a blur to me. 

December 23 ~ I remember leaving her home late one night to get my own Christmas shopping done, but to this day I have no idea what I purchased for my children.  I remember calling their lifelong friend, Father Zamary, to ask if he could concelebrate and give the homily at her funeral Mass.  I remember that I called my sister in New York and told her not to wait – she better get back as soon as possible. 

December 24 ~ I know that I tended my own little family on Christmas Eve, but I don’t remember what food I prepared.  I know that I sang at Mass.  I know that all I wanted to do was sit at her bedside. 

December 25 ~ I know that I hated the sound of the machine that we had to use to suction her.  I know that I stood by her side most of Christmas day using that damn machine.  We took turns massaging her lungs.  She insisted that we open Christmas gifts.  I still see the haunted look in her eye when she asked me to get everyone to hurry to open those gifts and I remember praying that God would just let her hold on – she would not want to leave us on this day – this day when love came down from heaven.

Now my sister, Roseann is the one who lives in New York and I have always referred to her as our “mystic.”  She puts together a prayer table that would shame the Vatican and she always thinks of everything!  She converted old home movies to DVD and we sat and watched those with Mom.    It brought such joy to all of us.  My brother, John, wrote a song for her and created a music video.  What a tribute!  We sang Christmas Carols– oh how she loved Christmas Carols!  Roseann wrote a beautiful poem to Mom and Dad and bought them a star – it is actually two stars that orbit around each other and she named it “Eternal Love.” 

December 26 ~ she looked at me with sad eyes and said no more machines.  I put it under the bed.

I called her siblings.  We broke out the hospice package.  I prayed to God that I could get ahold of a priest.  Dear Father McCarthy said he would stop by on his way home from visiting his family.  I prayed that it would not be too late.  It wasn’t – he came and we prayed around her.  It was so incredibly beautiful.  She was able to receive Eucharist – the bread that gave her life.  The family decided to bring in a hospice nurse.  I remember that she tried to get everyone to leave the room – I wasn’t very nice to her.  My mother wanted to be surrounded by all of us and that is the way it was going to be.  We did clear most people out of the room for a little while to eat, which gave me and my sisters some quiet time with Mom.  I felt the presence of my grandparents and my mom’s oldest brother.  We cleared away from the spot where I felt them.  Mom kept putting her hand out to that spot as if to hold their hand.  I started singing and as family started to come back upstairs, they joined in one by one.  It was the most precious moment.  Mom loved to hear us all sing and most of us felt it was great gift to her.  I remember kissing her feet and her hands.  I remember how every one of us took turns telling her what we would remember most about her – I sat and watched this and ponder it in my heart to this day – the look of love on her face.  She could not talk too much by this point but her eyes spoke volumes.  Then it was Dad’s turn and she was able to say that she loved him.  They had the sweetest kiss and embrace and in that moment her soul danced to heaven.

Father Conoboy heard our message from earlier in the day and despite the late hour just came over not knowing that she had just passed.  He blessed her earthly remains and prayed with us.  Everyone’s experience of her death will be different than mine; but looking at it through the eyes of faith, I cling to the words my Uncle spoke when he came to the house to say goodbye – “death where is thou sting.”  She looked beautiful and at peace and as my niece, daughter and I moved her earthly remains from the bed to the gurney I could not help but sing “Go forth Christian Soul.”  I kissed her sweet face and shrouded her; then we escorted her out and sang Amazing Grace as they took her away.

I thank you for allowing me to share these moments with you.  Throughout those last few months I called them “pockets of grace.”  When we face life’s most difficult challenges, it helps to find pockets of grace ~ moments that God provides to remind us that He is near.  If you ever feel as if God has abandoned you ~ please remember to look inward and find him ~ for He is there within you and within others that He sends to surround you with His love.  Thank you for surrounding me with the love of God!

Shalom,

Tina

Lighting the Candle of Love

As I write this, I am sitting at my mother-in-law’s home, waiting for our Christmas festivities to begin.  God blessed me with two beautiful Roses – my mom and Brian’s mom.  I always called them both the Christmas Rose because they both celebrate the season with such joy!  As I light the candle of love this week, I will be filled with thanksgiving that God chose these two beautiful ladies to mentor me and show me how a Catholic Christian woman should live her life ~ with the unconditional love of God.

It is not always easy to find joy in life, is it?  It is a choice that must be made.  I could choose to sit here in sadness that this is the tenth Christmas that the McCue’s will celebrate without our beloved Charlie and the first Christmas that the Makosky’s will celebrate without our beloved Rose.  On the other hand, I could choose to sit here filled with joy and celebrate the many blessings that God has bestowed upon me and my family.  I choose joy as I relish in the love so freely given me!

As the celebration of our Lord’s birth fast approaches, it may not be easy to remember the reason that we bake and shop and prepare enormous feasts.  We are a people who love to celebrate!  My prayer for you as you rush about your day to accomplish all of these tasks is to remember the reason for the season – JESUS!  All of this celebrating culminates for me on Christmas Eve as we celebrate the moment that love touched down upon the earth once again!  Oh how I love to walk into the dimly lit church and watch it fill with families reunited to celebrate.  It always warms my heart to see people who I have not seen in a while ~ young adults home from college ~ young adults with their children coming home for Christmas!  I now am able to understand the joy in my Mom’s heart when we would all come to celebrate Mass together, for my heart swells when all of my children are home and we come to the table of the Lord to celebrate the most important meal we ever share together.  The love of family brings such joy.

One of my favorite Christmas memories is when Brian and I used to come back and celebrate our midnight Mass.  My parents would come and watch our children so that we could have this precious time together.  On the way home, we would be able to see all of the luminaries that different neighborhoods and churches display.  We would get home around 1:30am and just soak in the quiet of our busy house and my sainted parents would then drive home.  Once they moved to Campbell, this became more difficult and our tradition stopped, but oh how I love to think about those special times.

If you feel overwhelmed in the coming days, take a moment to close your eyes and think of your most favorite Christmas memory.  Allow that joy to fill your heart and strengthen you to carry on as you create what will become the memories of Christmas 2015.  I hope to share with you, with the permission of my siblings, my memories of Christmas 2014 . . .but that is for another day.

Remember to light your world with joy this week as we prepare to celebrate incarnate love!

                                                                 

Shalom,

Tina

Loving the Liturgy

Gosh, I am having a tough time keeping up with my blog right now.  Father Balash talked about offering forgiveness to others even when they frustrate you.  Well, I frustrate myself so much and find it very difficult to tell myself it is ok and to forgive myself for my many human weaknesses. 

For those of you who know me, you probably know by now how much I LOVE THE LITURGY!  I love the sites, the sounds, the smells that accompany a Catholic Liturgy.  I have been blessed this week to celebrate beautiful liturgy with my Parish family, my Catholic School family an

d today with nearly 1,000 Catholic School students at St. Columba with Bishop Murry.

Have you ever closed your eyes during liturgy and just listened to the sound of everyone singing, or everyone praying the Lord’s Prayer?  I especially love the sound of silence after communion.  To me there is something quite profound about the sound of silence for it is then that I hear God whisper to me.

It was amazing to me today to hear the sound of the faithful singing the Eucharistic Acclamations.  Their voices rose up through the rafters and I truly felt that we were singing with the choirs of Angels as we acclaimed, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.  I felt as if it were a wave splashing up over into the choir loft.  It was truly amazing.

We are called to full, active participation in the liturgy, and when we answer this call, oh what a difference it makes.  When we fully participate, body, mind and soul, our joy spills over to our neighbor and they in turn spread their joy to others.  I pray that you can be this fountain of joy for others.

On Sunday we heard that

                                    “Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” 
                                                Demonstrate your faith to me without works,

                                                and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.”

                                                                                                                                                                James 2:18

I pray that the Words of God inspire you to a full and active participation not only in words, but in deeds as well so that when you go forth you glorify the Gospel with your life.

Shalom,

Tina

Only Love Remains

“For better or worse, in sickness and in health until death do you part” were the words in to which my parents said “I Do” to each other August 23, 1958.  These were the common vows 57 years ago.  They have been replaced with “I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”  This “newer” version is the vow Brian and I pledged to each other in 1985 and I believe they more closely reflect the covenant of the Sacrament of Marriage.  For while death parted my parents on December 26, 2014; my father’s love for my mother has not diminished in the least and he continues to honor her daily.  The love and honor he carries in his heart for his Rosie will last all the days of his life.

This is another rough day for my family and we are blessed enough by God to be celebrating this day together in the home of my sister who lives in New York.  While we gather to celebrate the 16^th birthday of my niece, we will honor and remember the day our parents left their homes and became one. 

Our parents took their marriage vows very seriously.  In good times and in bad, they held on to each other and I believe they remained in love because they kept God the Father, Son and Spirit as the third person in their marriage.  They took seriously the sacramental bond of man and woman united in love by God and their love grew with the grace of God.  I will be forever grateful for their example of Christian love and sacramental marriage. 

The sacramental love my parents had for each other is the love that has been keeping my Dad going these past eight months.  It is the love that gave him the strength to care for his Rosie as she lay dying and it is the love that gave my Mom the strength to surrender to her John and allow him to care for her very basic human needs.  I can remember saying to my Dad that I was so sorry he had to watch the love of his life struggle and he said “well, we said for better or worse; I guess this is the worse.”  Oh what love is this!  Love that is patient and kind, love that bears no record of wrong, love that remains!  He carries that love with him every day as he learns to live life with Mom in heaven and he waits until he will be united with her again. 

Love does not brood.  Dad is courageously moving forward even though it is difficult to be separated by this earthly plane.  He knows without a doubt that there will be a day in which he will be reunited with his Rosie and on that day the church bells will once again ring out, just as they tolled to mark the sacramental union of my parents, just as they tolled to mark Mom’s entry into the Promised Land.  Oh what love is this, love that is strong enough to wait for God to bring forth the light. 

So for all of you love birds out there who, like my Daddy, must spend your wedding anniversary here on earth while the love of your life waits for you in heaven, take courage in this steadfast love.  Be strengthened by the certain hope that you will be reunited with your love when Jesus calls you home.  May you feel the presence of that love on your special day.

Enjoy this song by Michael James Mette who will be coming to St. William on August 30 for a “Sharing Faith Through Music” Concert.

When We Leave Earth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDRwPwoRxQI&list=PLi_umedfYxvXP6OEVlAglx9bUZk5Ckvbz&index=9

Shalom,

Tina

Community

St. William celebrated a wonderful family meal today at our annual Parish Picnic.  As usual, Father Balash had the perfect homily . . . reminding us of the open invitation Jesus offers us every day to come to his table and share in the sacred meal of the Eucharist. 

I personally was very emotional today at Mass, for when my Anna walked into the worship space, it shot right to my heart that this was our last Mass together before she goes off to college.  My Anna, who many of you blessed as she was carried around the church on her baptism day, will be leaving Tuesday for Loyola Chicago.  It dawned on me that I will not have the chance until next summer to listen to her as she proclaims the Word of the Lord.  Oh, it hit me hard.  I love to hear her tell Christ’s story.  Then Father had to go and talk about Eucharist and I thought . . . oh no . . .after the family Mass at Loyola I will not be able to share the Eucharistic meal with her until she comes home for Thanksgiving!  Oh boy . . .I was in trouble.  If you were at Mass today, now you know why I started on the wrong chord for the Communion song . . . I was a mess inside.

The picnic has always been such a fun event for our family.  I remember when the children were little and they would get soaked by fire truck.  Back then the children got to sit up in the truck and the truck would drive them around in the parking lot.  It was always the highlight of the day!  I am so grateful that this simple tradition remains as part of our day.  Seeing these young children soaking wet brought back so many wonderful memories for me.

So, thank you my Saint William family for helping me get through a tough Sunday.  As I sit here sharing my thoughts with you, my Anna is finishing up her packing.  I am enjoying being in her presence, my heart is over being sad and I look forward to traveling to Chicago and spending three days helping her get settled in, going to orientation, and then the highlight of the festivities, celebrating the Sacred Liturgy with her in the beautiful Loyola chapel. 

My prayer for Anna and all of our graduates of the Class of 2015 as they spread their wings to college,

 "… Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,

 for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."                                Joshua 1:9

Stay safe and go forth to proclaim the gospel with your life!

Shalom,

Tina

Honor Thy Father

Happy Father’s Day! My prayers are with those of you who may be celebrating this Father’s Day without the earthly presence of your Dad.  I remember the first Father’s Day that we celebrated without Charlie, my dear father-in-law.  It was a bittersweet day but we did celebrate because he filled our life with joy, and discipline and taught us how to be men and women of honor!  We continue to celebrate his life.  May you find comfort in the sure knowledge that your father is celebrating this day with our heavenly Father!

This day marks another first for my family as Dad faces his first Father’s Day without his beloved Rose.  I have been thinking about this quite a bit since Mother’s Day.  Often you hear husbands or wives say about their spouse, “he/she is not my mother/father” when it comes to honoring their spouse on this day set aside for parents.  My parents did not fall for this notion and neither do I.  Today I not only honor my Dad but my husband, the father of my five children.  I have been wrestling with how my Dad is struggling to now be a single parent and this brings me a little closer to grasping the hard task that so many parents face in the current era.  My heart goes out to all of you Dads and Moms who have to fill both roles.  May God give you the strength that you need as you raise up his children.

Since I have been thinking of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day so much, I got to thinking of how symbolic that Sunday was the day of the week chosen for these honors.  That thought led me to think of the Trinity and parenthood which I had never thought of before.  I came upon this revelation:  Mother and God the Holy Spirit, the one sent to give courage and strength, the advocate!  Father and God the Father; the creator, the bearer of rules and consequences.  Celebrated on Sunday – God the Son – the day set aside to celebrate new life in Christ’s resurrection – the Son – who brings us forgiveness and healing and eternal life.  A good parent needs to embody the traits of each person of the trinity.

We must each strive for these traits and honor each other.  As we honor our fathers this day, let us remember to also honor our God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  More importantly, let us remember that this honor should be given every day of the year!

I cannot close without wishing the father of our parish, Father Balash, a happy birthday!  Thank you for being a good shepherd to us all.

Shalom,

Tina

Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ Mother’s Day Blessing

Happy Mother’s Day!  This will be a difficult day for me as this is the first Mother’s Day that I and my family will experience with our Mother residing in Heaven.  Today is also my Father’s birthday, so we will be celebrating both life and death this day.  My Mom had an intense devotion to Mother Mary, so while I miss my Mom terribly, I can’t help but smile thinking of her celebrating this day with the Blessed Mother.  I imagine all the women in heaven gathering for a lovely tea as Mary shares stories of Jesus as a child.  Those years were not recorded for us, for Mary pondered them in her heart, but it is great fun to imagine Mary sharing those stories with other mothers in heaven!

My life has been filled with wonderful moments created by my mother.  In sharing some of the stories with you, I hope that some of my stories might trigger a happy memory of your own mother and childhood!

Birthdays ~ We had great family parties!  We were allowed to have what was then called “slumber parties” for a few of our friends.   Oh, the food she would make and the cake!  What I now realize is that while she created wonderful memories for me, this taught me a bigger lesson in life to not get caught up in materialism.  The important thing about celebrating is being with family and friends, not in the theme or elaborate setting.  The older I get, the more I understand this lesson. 

Vacations ~ our vacations were also focused on family.  My mom would often apologize to us for not being able to take us on a big fancy vacation but oh my gosh the fun we had visiting our cousins in Maryland and Indiana!  We thought that was great!  Our dad was very involved in the Optimist Club when we were young, so our vacations were often tagging along with them to conventions.   I do not know how my mother packed up six children, one husband, and everything needed for the hospitality room while in heels and looking fabulous the entire time.  Geez I can’t hold a candle to that!  Like my mom, I carry this guilt that our younger children have not been to Disney or Universal Studios or Niagara Falls. Our vacations have been to visit wherever their older brother lives and the yearly trip to the shores of Lake Erie with the McCue clan.  Another life lesson which I am still learning; it does not matter where you go but who you are with on the journey. 

Mother’s Day ~ as a young mother it bothered me that my mom was still the one doing all the work on Mother’s Day!  I would be fierce with my dad, husband and brothers that they should be doing the work.  Ah, another life lesson.  My mom was all about serving others.  Our Mother’s Day celebrations gave her the chance to once again feed her six children and their families.  This is a lesson that I need to learn, for in my selfishness, I want a day to be served rather than to serve.  I pray for the strength to daily remember “it is better to serve than be served.” 

So Mom, thank you for being such a wonderful Christian Mother, teaching me by word and deed how to walk like Jesus.  To all mothers and caretakers, thank you for being Jesus to those you love and serve.

Shalom,

Tina