Unwanted gifts
“Sometimes life gives you things you do not want. In spite of not wanting it, you get it anyway.” She said this with the surety only an 80 year old can have.
“So what do you do with stuff or things or events life gives you, even if you don’t want it?” I asked while I walked towards the kitchen, holding the mobile phone to my ear.
“Well, I find a place to put it! I don’t carry it around with me all day and all night. I just find a place to put it while I get on with other things in my life. I know it is where I have put it; I have not thrown it away. It just sits there where I put it, until I know what I want to do with it.” She gave a little sigh, emphasising the feeling she has when she has to deal with life’s unwanted gifts.
“Try to do this now. You are going through a difficult time my child. I think of you so much. As your mother I know that you would never have wanted events to have turned out the way they have. Your children all are very dear to you. Never forget that you reared them. You must now trust what you have taught them. Look at all the other blessings in your life. Rather pick them up and have them close to you as you deal with your unwanted gift put onto the mantelpiece.”
She was trying to encourage me as only a mother can. Her concern and love for me came through her voice, punctuated by a sign of helplessness. Many years before she had said to me, “Eventually we all become spectators to our children’s lives. You cannot interfere; you can just observe and pray.”
She had raised her own children under difficult financial circumstances. Now into the final lap of her earthlife, she can speak from experience. The joys, the sadness, the concern etched onto a face which still reflects the beauty of her youth.