Mom.....I Love You



Proverbs 31:28

Her children arise and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

I wish mine were here to hear those words. My mother passed away May 26, 1981. Has it been 31 years? So much has happened since she died.

My sons have grown to be men with families of their own.
Her dream of having a son that was a pastor came true in 1997.

With each Mother's Day, I stop to give thanks for the influence and love my mother gave to me.

For the morals and behaviors she gave to me (or at least tried to get me to see the value in them). I was not the easiest son to raise, especially following my brother.  Wayne, my brother, was every parents dream child. If you told him to do something, he did it. He excelled in school. Then there was me. I was the anti-Wayne. As my Dad told me...."Son, you could mess up a steel ball bearing with a rubber hammer." I think I taxed my Mother's patience on more than one occasion, but through it all, she loved me. Mother's are like that....yeah, they are.

I have been blessed to be surrounded by godly women who, in my opinion, fall into the Proverbs 31 definition of what a Mother is. First off, God blessed me with a 2nd mother after mine died. That would be my mother-in-law, Betty Campbell. I would that someone would make a movie of this woman's life. Having gone through a divorce, which wasn't common back in the 50's, she raised 6 kids on her own, working 2 and 3 jobs to keep the family together. There wasn't an over abundance of many things in the Campbell household growing up, but love and Mom was not one of them. She has lived with us for 30 years and we have been blessed beyond measure to have her in our lives. Both my boys grew up with their grand mother here with them. During summer vacation, she would work in the yard taking care of flowers and shrubs and what other flora might be lurking. From time to time, she would send Chad and Josh to round up their friends to help her move rocks or landscaping timbers, with a promise that if they would come and help her, she'd take them all to the Glencoe Swimming pool. Needless to say, the yard would fill up with boys of all sizes shapes and ages. With task completed, she'd load everyone up in her little yellow station wagon and off they'd go for an adventure. Mom...I love you and I am so glad you've been a part of our family.

Last, but certainly not least, I've watched my own wife, Vicki, assume the mantle of mom. For some reason she always has felt that she was very selfish. Not so. She has always put her kids and her family ahead of her own needs and wants. I have watched over the years as she would create things for the kids on the fly. Whether it was Halloween costumes or birthday meals, she was the master at getting things done. She loves the holidays. Our family comes alive whenever a holiday rolls around because Vicki goes the extra mile to put those special touches on meals and gatherings. Over the years, she has turned into this incredible gourmet chef and has developed an amazing gift for cooking. Her meals are clear evidence of the love she has for her family.

In 2002, Vicki moved into the next role of life with the birth of our first grand child, Tyler. As she so aptly put it, holding Tyler for the first time......"I didn't know I could love another woman's child as much as I do until I held Tyler." She adopted a new moniker when the grand's came along..........Ammie. Tyler couldn't say Grandmother....or Grammy.....it came out "Ammie". Ammie it is and Ammie it will always be.

Like I said at the beginning of this post.........God has blessed me with 3 wonderful women in my life. So today, as Mom takes it easy and we prepare the meal for her, I do want to bless them. I would that God give us another year together and let the love that already exists in this family grow deeper and fuller.

May God richest blessings be upon you today......

Florine Bynum.........

Betty Campbell..........

Vicki Bynum..............

I love you all......

God on you....

mb