Happy Mother's Day!

These are the guys who give me the right to celebrate Mother's Day, Joshua and Jonathan.

Since they have their instruments out, I'll start by discussing today's Mother's Day service at our corps. In the absence of our regular pianist, I was called up for piano duty. Moreover, we celebrated both Mother's Day and Music Sunday today, so there were a couple of extra musical items thrown into the mix. The service was a bit long. :)

The service began with a musical prelude composed by Jonathan, a nice medley of praise and worship songs. Joshua got into the act too, as he played a trombone solo for the offertory, accompanied by yours truly. In addition to playing for the congregational singing, I accompanied the Songsters on two challenging pieces that gave me a pretty good workout on the piano. So, the three of us were front-and-center at various points in the service. It's a little embarrassing, actually, but I'm really proud of the boys. I'm pleased that Dave and I have been able to pass on to them a love of music. I'm even more pleased that God has given them musical abilities and that they are using their gifts for His glory.

I was poignantly conscious of the fact that I was unable to be with either my mother or my mother-in-law today. I smiled as I thought about how my mother-in-law used to delight in taking her three daughters and (at the time) two daughters-in-law to the Mother-Daughter dinners in Brampton. She always wanted to be the mother with the most daughters present. Her daughters and daughters-in-law have been really spread out for a number of years now, so it's been a long time since we all attended a Mother-Daughter dinner together. I hope we'll get to do it again sometime.

I also smiled as I recalled waking up many nights for a drink of water, going down the stairs, turning the corner and seeing my mother curled up in a chair with a book that she couldn't put down. One night when I was 12 or 13, she came down the stairs with a book in her hand and found me curled up in her seat with a book I couldn't put down. She smiled at me and told me I really should get to bed. I smiled at her and told her she should do the same. I went to bed - I don't know what she did. Now we exchange books whenever we see each other.

I'm blessed to have been raised by an incredibly godly mother who still sets a wonderful example in her prayer life and her service to her corps and community. I'm also blessed to have a fantastic mother-in-law whose greatest joys are to love and give to others. Both of my mothers continue to challenge me, pray for me and support me. They've set high standards for me to follow with my own children. As this Mother's Day winds down, I thank God for giving me two great mothers and for allowing me to be a mother to two great boys.