Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

When you have six children and you live in a small community people you don’t know approach you in the grocery store or the bank and say “Are you “fill in the blanks” father? I just wanted to tell you what a great kid you have. I am a boss\teacher\friend of theirs. You did a good job raising them” My answer is always the same; “The credit goes to their mom.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m wasn’t an absentee parent or a dead beat dad but my kids received their values, their morals and their most amazing capacity to love from their mom. They received these amazing gifts of joy, of peace and understanding from her. With six very different personalities it’s difficult to adopt a perspective of wisdom for each child but she manages to do that. When the phone rings today and they begin with “Let me talk to mom….” I know there is some crisis, great or small that’s brewing.

Many of us strive to reflect the Divine essence in our lives. Joan does it naturally. I was waiting for her last night and as she walked out of the store I remarked to Katie that she always has a smile on her face. That smile is always sincere. Each of her children believes that goodness, love and a tiny part of the Divine essence is in each of them no matter what path they have chosen to walk in life. They learned that from the example she’s lived for them.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Like most moms she never puts herself ahead of her kids. She’s always been there with a band aid, a cookie or a hug. She’s given up a lot for her kid’s well-being and you have never heard a grumble or a complaint out of her mouth. When she reads this she’ll give me a hug and minimize what I’ve written. She’ll say she’s not a saint and I’m partial because she’s my wife. Fair point. Ask anyone who knows her and you’ll get the same answers. She is a holy person. She does not walk around quoting Scripture, or sitting in Church seven days a week. She does something more difficult and challenging. She gets up every morning and she lives the Divine message and shares it with everyone she meets. She is bound by one rule and that is to love fully and completely. She has many challenges in her life. She has no depth perception. She’s never been able to drive a car because she can’t judge distance or perspective. With that she relinquished the freedom to come and go as she pleases and depends on other people and their schedules for transportation. She rarely complains and is always ready to help other people out. That is her nature. It’s holiness and she makes no big deal about it.

I usually blog here at Spark to inspire or share. This morning my task is a simple one: To pay tribute to someone whose life touches so many others by simply and gracefully sharing her love. As you read this a picture of your mom or grand mom may pass before your eyes. Thank them, whether they are here on earth or already passed to another life. Thank them for putting you ahead of everything else and for giving you the opportunity to honor them with your life. I will, just as soon as I post this.