As Mother’s Day approaches, I pray mothers throughout the world will allow God’s unconditional, infinite and all powerful love to flow through their hearts to expel the fear in their own hearts as well as the hearts of their children.
May mothers express the love of God so strong that they never have to worry about their children choosing violence over peace, choosing death over life, choosing to remain in darkness over light. May all know a love that is patient, kind, that does not dishonor others, nor is self seeking so that we may love others as God has loved us and live on earth as it is in heaven.
This morning as I was working on my latest project, “Raising Your Child to Live to Their Fullest Potential,” I read the quote in the Wall Street Journal from Sharon Soofi, whose son was killed by police in Garland, Texas as he attempted to attack people attending a contest that was viewed as disrespectful by many. She said, “I had all the hopes and dreams that he would grow up and have a good life and raise a family and be successful.”
Those are the dreams of every mother. We all have the highest hopes for our children. We wish for them health, happiness, success and peace. The choice is theirs to open their hearts to receive it.
As mothers, our greatest influence is our connection to God’s goodness through our thoughts, words and actions – where there is perfect unconditional love, fear is expelled. Fear leads to anger, hate, despair, and ultimately death.
As mothers we have a keen eye for the beautiful gifts God has placed in the hands, hearts and heads of our children. Sharon’s son was intelligent, musically inclined and athletic. She raised her son in a nice home, in a good neighborhood with private schooling. She gave him all the opportunities to thrive. But in the end, she was filled with fear. What went wrong?
Toya Graham is another mother trying to keep her son from propagating violence and being a victim of violence in Baltimore. Taking a call to action to “locate your children and bring them home,” Toya found her son on the opposite side of the street with a rock in hand waiting to express his anger over injustice. When Toya and her son made eye contact, both were filled with fear. She approached him and in an impressionable scene for any young man, she began slapping him in rage that he would make a choice to be involved in activities that could lead to more deaths.
Both boys could site the death of a fellow community member as the reason for their anger. Both were attempting to ask the world for respect. Both had more fear of their fellow countrymen than love for them.
I applaud Toya, who admitted her actions were not the most stellar when she was slapping her son, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Her son acting with violence because of violence would not solve anything. Toya acknowledged she also acted in violence to prevent more violence. The short term impact is never a long term solution.
How do we stop this violence? How can we as mothers influence our children to choose peace? How do we address the basic needs of people to feel safe, loved, accepted, and respected? How do we help our children to honor others with the same needs of safety, love, acceptance and respect?
There are many things we need to do. In both cases we saw that our children are influenced by more than just ourselves. Let us come together as a world community and respect our diversity of beliefs. Let us empower our children to find goodness in all people by loving each other’s children as our own. Let us know our neighbor in addition to loving them. Let us create peace by being a channel of peace. Let us put no conditions on our love for one another – let us know judge for we will be judged. If we can model these actions as mothers, perhaps our children will have the tools and resources to act the same.
There is one other mother I think we could take some tips from as she also experienced hardships with her son. Her’s were a persecuted people, her family spent time in lands that held different values from their own. They were strong in their faith and they sought peace in all their interactions. The mother is Jesus’ mother – Mary.
Mother Mary taught her son that God is good, that God will provide and that God has great plans for us all. God is not vengeful, anger easily or seek His own interests and we should act the same.
Mother Mary taught her son not to judge others. Judgment only leads to fear which separates us from God.
Mother Mary taught her son we are all of one body – that whatever we do to one another, we do to ourselves and that is the intention of the commandment to love one another as we love ourselves.
Mother Mary taught her son to rejoice always and in everything give thanks. Gratitude is the key to happiness. By finding the good in all people, situations and events, love is unconditional.
Mother Mary taught her son to be mindful of his thoughts, words and actions. Everything Jesus did was with intention.
Mary raised her son so that he could teach the most important lesson for humankind. Jesus taught us all is that without forgiveness, heaven is unattainable. No matter how horrible an act someone commits against you or your brother, we must forgive or we will never live in a state of heaven full of peace, joy and love.
As mothers let us be united in peace, united in God’s love and united in our intentions to live on earth as it is in heaven. Mothers are blessed women. Let us pray for one another and our children to create peace and bring our lost children home.