In my emerging adult days, my mother had a way of being discretely direct. One of her recurring statements about my choice of friends and leisure hours was along the following lines.
“Bill, if you choose to play near the mud puddles, at some point you are going to get dirty.”
I never heard her say these words to me in anger or as a retort when we were disagreeing. Each time she offered this advice it came with a gentle hint of a southern accent and a smile that reminded me that she knew exactly what she was saying and why.
The beauty and kindness of her words has stayed with me. Almost four decades later, in moments that I know would trigger a knowing look, I hear them again. I am still in awe at the way she got my attention without triggering a confrontation between us that was far too familiar. The wisdom of simple words covered everything from what I consumed for my mind and heart to where I spent my time in a quest for happiness and recognition.
As I listened to the echo of her words recently, I saw myself with fresh eyes. Beyond the foundation importance of where one focuses her/his attention or looks for happiness, there is the question of what do we do with the darkness in the corner of our lives. There is value in wrestling with matters of the heart and mind in the darkness of the night! I believe one’s life depends on this battle and how it is waged.
In context, as my mind drifted while considering a beautiful sunset. I could hear Mom asking a follow-up question; “Surveying his [Divinity’s] magnificent heavens and earth?” (Psalm 113.6)
Without hesitating, I whispered “yes.”
As much as I appreciated her approach in days gone by, I found myself filled with a renewed sense of thankfulness for her gifts of wise words and a willingness to care, especially when I made it difficult. I hope to gift those I love with the legacy of her heart.
