Happy Mother's Day

For the last month my e-mail has been full of reminders from FTD that Mother's Day was coming. As if I would forget. Each e-mail seemed like a little stab in the heart...a reminder that today would be my first Mother's Day without my mom. If I could send flowers to Heaven, I'd gladly pay the delivery fee, but I don't think even FTD delivers there. Finally it hit me that I would not be the only person missing their mom today. So today in my church, there is a bouquet of pink flowers on display in honor of all those moms who are no longer with us here on earth, but who will forever be in our hearts.

I will also be reading my tribute to my mom in the church services today. I wrote it in the days right after Mother died. I shared it with one of my pastors last summer and he asked me then if I'd read it on Mother's Day. Even though I don't like to speak in front of others, I said I would do it to honor my mom. Last summer, May seemed like a long ways off. Funny how fast it came around. Last night I had a trial run at the Saturday night service. It went pretty good. Today's services are likely to have more people attending, but I know my mom will be with me, so I will get through it. The only problem is that I have a cold and I don't have much of a voice this morning. Hopefully it will return by the time of the church services. If not, both pastors have volunteered to read the tribute for me. But as you read the last line, you will have to agree that it would be kind of funny to hear a grown man read it out loud. Many thanks to Pastor Morrie and Pastor Tim for giving me this opportunity to honor my mom this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day in Heaven Mother!

The Woman Who Never Did A Lot

In loving memory of Maxine Betz 2/29/1924-6/19/2011

Written by Kim (Betz) Seeger

This picture of Mother will be with me when I do my reading.

There once was an elderly woman who looked back at her life and said she never did a lot. She wasn’t complaining. It was just her way of saying that she had never traveled to far off places, never held a high ranking job, never found a cure for any diseases, never really made a difference in the world.

This same woman traveled miles walking the floor with fussy babies in her arms. She stayed up half the night sewing Christmas dresses and flannel shirts for her family. She changed countless diapers, none of them disposable. She held tiny hands as her children took their first steps. The same woman was sure to cook favorite meals on her children’s birthdays. Homemade birthday cakes rounded out those meals. She baked hundreds of loaves of homemade bread and her coffee cakes and cinnamon rolls were always on hand. She let each of her children have their own piece of dough to make their own special treat. Thousands of cookies were made with her loving hands. She always made sure that no one went without enough food. Countless loads of laundry were done through the years. This woman never complained about the long hours of her job. She laughed and cried with her children. She celebrated their accomplishments and comforted them through their heartaches. She cherished her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She made sure there were always plenty of treats on hand for their visits.

She loved her husband with all her heart. She truly believed he was her better half. She nursed him back to health after illnesses and surgeries, always thanking God for their days together. This woman sat with her husband and showered him with love in his final days. Then she gave him back to God and dreamed of the day they’d be together again.

This woman never felt sorry for herself. Instead she took care of everyone else. She offered a smile to all she met, sometimes striking up conversations with strangers who turned into life long friends. She preached God’s Word wherever she went, not by banging on her Bible, but by putting others before herself and by showering compassion, humor and love on everyone. In talking with her, people quickly learned that faith, family and friends were the most important things in her life.

This woman underestimated herself. While she may not have traveled the globe, her prayers for family and friends traveled to Heaven daily. She may never have cured any diseases, but she cured many boo-boos and broken hearts with just a hug and a kiss. As for never holding a high ranking job, nothing could be farther from the truth. She held the most prestigious of jobs: Wife and Mother. And she excelled at both. And that part about never making a difference in the world? She made all the difference to those who knew her.

I am honored to have called this special woman Mother. Though I am now grown and have a family of my own, I have often said that I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up. Mother, I want you to know that I have finally decided: I want to be a woman who never did a lot.