This morning I was thinking about mothers and their labor of love. For Mother's Day, my daughter gave me a photo from her wedding with a closeup of my arm supporting hers. i like the way you can see her handmade wedding bouquet and corsage- my labor of love. I hung the picture next to a framed card my mother sent a while back with a silhouette of a girl with a pony tail. Behind the cutout I can see the scrawl of my dear mom sending her support through the mail. Many times throughout the years, my mother has sent beautiful note cards with short messages and checks or certificates. They represent her labor of love as she steadies my arm and encourages me to keep going.
From the very beginning at childbirth, mom's perform their labor of love. They do things they don't feel like doing. Of course they try their best to not feel the full force of labor pains. Oh the joys of an epidural-or at least so I've heard. I wouldn't know. With the first child, I thought having a c-section was the easy way out. Yeah, that was a stupid assumption. The nurses encouraged me to walk around the hospital wing soon after my surgery but warned how my stomach would feel like someone was pointing a blow torch directly at it. They pretty much nailed it. With the other children, I wasn't able to have an epidural because my labor went so quickly. I had to face transition on my own -in all it's painful glory. With the last child, even though I jumped the gun on the epidural-they put it in crooked so half of my body was numb while the other half felt every contraction. Just dumb luck. Nevertheless, no matter how exhausting and painful, the labor of love is always worth it-if only to give a child a chance at life.
As mother's day approached, I had the opportunity to offer some financial support to a child and give him a chance to get on his feet again. I was happy to do so. It's why I'm working so hard- even though I usually don't feel like getting up early and I usually don't like how I feel at the end of the day as I pour myself in bed. In fact there are all sorts of things I don't feel like doing related to keeping my job. This week it was re-certifying as a lifeguard. I've been dreading the class. Not only did I not "feel like" doing it, but I don't want to keep doing this over and over just to keep my current job until I retire. I don't know if I have it in me. I also don't feel like renewing my Wilderness First Responder 5 more times,or taking the river crew/guide test again, or having to recertify as a ropes course facilitator every stinkin' year etc. etc. It's a hassle to keep paying the money every year to earn CEU's or paying the annual"maintenance fee" to renew my TRS license and CTRS national certification. Getting all of them in the first place is difficult, but keeping them current...well it's a royal pain in the butt. It's hard. It's exhausting. And at times it's painful. Sometimes I'm scream inside, "I don't want to do this anymore!" Yet I do it because it's my labor of love. It makes me feel like I'm becoming like my own dear mom. She kept working until she was 78. I don't know if I can do that, but I can be committed for the long run-to not give up, but to keep laboring on. It's my best chance. It's also how I can honor my mother, by trying emulate her in every way I can.
I'm know Jesus Christ didn't feel like doing what he did when he performed the most important labor of love. He asked his Father if there was any possible way to get out of it. Or at least not feel so bad- "Remove this cup" he pleaded but was willing to bear it if that's what his Father wanted. He didn't have anything to block the pain. He felt the pains of every single soul. His labor gave me a chance at life-a new life every day if I wish. He gives me the chance of eternal life. He sustains and supports me to keep moving forward. To honor him, I want to emulate his example in all ways. How I love him!
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