Mother’s Day

Who would have thought a Mother’s Day column could be lifted out of an article entitled “What Makes Men Men?”, but that’s what I’m doing.

After referring to mothers and fathers as kings and queens, the author states:

“Comparisons of fathers and mothers with kings and queens seem naïve, nostalgic, sentimental, and exaggerated. They make us squirm. There are strong reasons for this reactions, but they are bad ones. How many parents have lost their regal dignity, disbelieve in their authority, and confuse the proper humility of their office with being self-mocking and ironic? We have turned husbands and wives into androgynous ‘spouses,’ fathers and mothers into interchangeable ‘parent figures.’ We approach having a child like acquiring a pool table or wide-screen TV. Would it be fun? Would it be tedious? Would it be worth the expense? Fathers and mothers have need of recovering their sense of regal calling, taking up their ball and scepter, and ruling their dominions with love for their precious subjects.

“May it be needless to say that mothers and fathers must also recover the conviction of their need for each other. They must do this not only for their own sakes, but also for their young. Every child needs both kinds of love. It is not enough to provide an intermediate love that is half motherly and half fatherly. Or an inconsistent love that is motherly at some times, fatherly at others. Even though the two loves resemble each other, they are distinct, and neither can be imitated by anything else. Yes, it may be true heroism when, through no fault of one’s own, a father or a mother raises a child all alone; yet it is better to not be alone. No woman can fully take the place of a father, any more than a man can substitute for a mother.”

I thank God for mothers…and fathers.

God Bless, Rick