Mom’s Still Standing
You’ve seen these horrific images of the California fires. The force is almost incomprehensible. The backdrop from a Fox News report has stuck with me all week. The reporter is standing in front of a burned out house. A structure that once probably held baby blankets with satin bows and cans of green beans. Computer printers and last year’s prom dress. Grandma’s hand-knit afghan and dad’s San Diego Padre’s hat. But the item whose shape is still discernable behind the reporter’s head is the charred remains of the washer and dryer.
You know who else is still standing? The moms. While everyone is lost and diminished, it will be the moms who stay strong, willing their families to press forward. It’s what we do.
Yeah sure we have our moments. We close the bathroom door and cry into the hand towel or drop the kids at pre-school and break down when Tim McGraw sings, “Live like you were dying”. But we know we’re the ones God created to withstand the tough stuff. We get singed and battered but in the end we do the work that needs to be done for our families. Some of us do it by sitting in dank waiting rooms for test results, some of us work outside the home, and some of us pray without ceasing.
The chimneys are still standing in most of the burned out houses too. These are the dads. Stoic, tall. They have to do it their way. But moms we’re down in the ashes, pulling out the tiny remains of hope, still perfectly intact.
14 Responses to “Mom’s Still Standing”
October 26th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Yes.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Wait - my husband’s the chimney, and I’m the washer/dryer? Can I be a frontloader, at least? I’m more energy-efficient that way.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Awesome post…
October 26th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
so so true
October 26th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
It is amazing that we creatures who will cry over Hallmark commercials and song lyrics, are the tough ones that hold our families together! God must have a bizarre sense of humor.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Your posts are so intriguing to me. Your timing is almost eerie. This week has been so trying for us (husband’s job and oldest son being diagnosed with HSP after 3 visits to the ER) and I was just praying, “God…I don’t want to be the strong one any more…I don’t think I can be the glue.” Then I wiped my eyes, walked out of the bathroom and started dinner.
October 27th, 2007 at 7:52 am
That is exactly why Gone With the Wind is my all-time favorite book. The spirit of a woman prevailing over everything is what life is like much of the time. And it’s because we don’t have a choice.
October 27th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Wow! Wish I could post this to the world it is such an inspiration. I will just settle for forwarding to all the “supermoms” I know.
October 27th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Really great post . . .
October 27th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
So amazingly true. Thank you for this post. Thank you so much.
- Audrey
October 27th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
The news photos of mothers in third world countries always moves me. There is such strength in these women, holding their children and doing what they must to survive day to day.
October 27th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
You nailed it. Strength for the day is what God has promised. And…He delivers on his promises. Your metaphorical images are powerful!
October 27th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I was thinking about how powerless we are against the forces of nature (yes, and the people that start fires) and then you brought me back to the simple things. Things each of us do when there are forces beyond our control. I remember times in my life when all I could think of was to put my feet on the floor and say left, right, left right. Wash my face and get the coffee started and feed my family. Thanks for the reminder.
October 28th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Wow.