MOTHERS DAY 2000
IN LOVING MEMORY

Marie QUEEN Runyon Hazel ETTER Estep

Mother of Nick and Mother of Linda


"Parable For A Mother"

The young mother set her foot on the path of Life.
"Is the way long?" she asked. And her Guide said,
"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old
before you reach the end of it. But the end will be
better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would
not believe that anything could be better than these
years. So she played with her children, and
gathered flowers for them along the way, and
bathed with them in the streams, and the sun shone
on them, and life was good, and the young mother
cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this".

Then night came, and storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold,
and the mother drew them close and covered them
with her mantle and the children said, "Oh,
Mother, we are not afraid for you are near, and no
harm can come." And the mother said, "This is
better than the brightest of days, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came and there was a hill ahead,
and the children climbed and grew weary, and the
mother was weary, but at all times she said to the
children, "A little patience and we are there." So
the children climbed, and when they reached the
top, they said, "We could not have done it without
you, Mother." And the mother, when she lay down
that night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is
a better day than the last, for my children have
learned fortitude in the face of difficulty. Yesterday I gave them courage, Today I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which
darkened the earth - clouds of war and hate and
evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the
mother said, "Look up! Lift your eyes to the light.
" And the children looked and saw above the clouds
an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them beyond
the darkness. And that night the mother said,
"This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the months and the
years, and the mother grew old, and she was small
and bent. But her children were strong and tall and
walked with courage. And when the way was hard,
they helped their mother; and when the way was
rough they lifted her, for she was as light as a
feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond
the hill they could see a shining road and golden
gates flung wide. And the mother said, "I have
reached the end of my journey. And now I know
that the end is better than the beginning, for my
children can walk alone, and their children after
them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with
us, Mother, even when you have gone through the
gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on
alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot see her, but she is with us. A mother
like ours is more than a memory. She is living
presence."

~Author Unknown~

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Carol Estep Maynard |