God and Mom

Do you ever find yourself wondering if what you do really matters to anyone?

When I was little, my mom would always take what was leftover after she took care of us. My sisters and I hated burned food. When my mom would burn something like a piece of fish or whatever, she would tell us "that will be my piece". I remember asking her if she liked burned food and she told me no. Although, she does enjoy really crispy food.

I also remember my mom always serving our food first. She was always the last person to sit down at the table and eat. It was more important to her that we had enough food than it was for her to have enough food. By the time my mom sat down to the table, her food was always cold. She would insist that she didn't mind it being cold.

I remember my mom always making sure our hair was fixed neat and pretty with bows and little clasps. We were always clean and dressed neatly (even if we didn't come home from school looking that way). We always dressed better than my mom. This is because my mom spent her time, money and effort on us instead of herself. My mother came last.....by choice......by love.

I don't know if my mom was thinking about the kind of impression she was making in our lives when she was doing all of these things. It always appeared to me that she did these things because she cared about us and wanted what was best. It was always very clear to me that my mom valued herself far less than she valued us as her children.

Yesterday was one of those great days in my life that God sends along to remind me that the things I do really matter to someone. No matter what you do and where you go, someone is watching and learning.

I was in the kitchen preparing food on 3 plates for my 2 neices and 1 nephew. I served the food. We all prayed, after a good discussion about why we should tell God thank you. Then I got up from the table and headed to the fridge again. Before I could make it that far, I heard one of the younger ones ask "Aren't you going to eat?". Then something beautiful happened that I never expected. My oldest neice says "She always feeds us first."

1.) A child was concerned about my hunger.
2.) A 10 year old was impacted by my service.

I felt as though God gave me a pat on the back. I really couldn't ask for anything more wonderful. God always gives the best surprises!

The sacrifices that my mom made, make me think about God. He took all the nasty junk away so I could have what was best. God gave of Himself first so I would learn to give of myself.

God sure knows what He's doing!