Honoring Our Parents: https://odb.org/2001/02/18

9 May 2020

Screenshot from Wikipedia

Some years back, before my mother passed away and she was already widowed, I came about a devotional about honoring parents. 

From Our Daily Bread: https://odb.org/2001/02/18

It read, visit them as often as possible or call them as frequent as possible if you live far from their place. Back then, I would visit her once a month which may appear good enough, suddenly I realized that means 12 days over 365 days. From then on, I made the effort to make it more frequent. I had an old celfone, I bought a Globe prepaid sim and gave it to my Mom, and was able to call her more often with my unlicall plan. When we visit her, I would ask if she wants to go to the mall; she would at times decline because of her rayuma, so we would instead bring take out food. At times, we would bring her to SM's women's wear section and she would decline to choose a blouse and she would say she has already several and I would convince her "sige na". This might be expected more between a mother and daughter, I did it out of gratitude. After recovering from severe midlife crisis and experiencing the grace of God with a new lease of life, I changed, I became affectionate. Pinautang ako ng Panginoon ng malaking halaga, kaya malaki ang aking utang na loob sa Kanya.

Luke 7:43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

It was about when I was in grade 4 that I would see my mother in their bedroom praying during early evening. She was alone, my father was on shift work most of the time, so she must be taking advantage of quiet moments. I was attending public school after 4 years in a Catholic school. We moved to a new house in the city; it must that the room of my parents was not in the way to our bedroom in our house in the barrio that I did not easily notice my mother praying before. 

Some years after I became a Christian at age 44, I shared my faith with my mother, already a widow, saying she must have noticed the change in me, referring to my showing of affection, our visiting her more often. She smiled, it must be her way of affirmation, the smile that must have endeared my father. I closed saying, kapag naalala mo sa gabi ang tatay at nalulungkot ka, manalangin ka sa Panginoon. Much much later, I was at the hospital ICU past midnight seeing Mom struggling with tubes on her; she had a heart attack early evening, and Marlou and I travelled to see her. I whispered to her, Inay, kita ko nahihirapan ka, ipanalangin mo sa Panginoon ang iyong nararamdaman. I awoke in the morning knowing my Mom was already okay, so Marlou and I travelled back to Manila; only to be told later by my eldest sister that Mom had a second heart attack and did not survive, my sister said she passed away peacefully, seemingly with that smile of her. What a consolation for us for the departed.

Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

Happy Mother's Day....To All Mothers And Motherlies.....God bless.