[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||14px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”8px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ text_font_size=”15px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”|-4px||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know Jesus when I had my mother with me. I failed so often in my expression of love. But, her prayers availed much. I\u2019m saved today, and I will see her again.<\/b><\/p>\n For further study: Consider these related Scriptures [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I didn\u2019t know Jesus when I had my mother with me. I failed so often in my expression of love. But, her prayers availed much. I\u2019m saved today, and I will see her again. Dear Lord, thank you for showing me that my mother\u2019s greatest battle was not against material lack or social injustice. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" I didn\u2019t know Jesus when I had my mother with me. I failed so often in my expression of love. But, her prayers availed much. I\u2019m saved today, and I will see her again.<\/b><\/p> Dear Lord, thank you for showing me that my mother\u2019s greatest battle was not against material lack or social injustice. The real war was spiritual. She was salt and light in the midst of a darkness that must have cried, \u201cYou\u2019re all alone on the battlefield.\u201d Nevertheless, I now understand that eternal life and liberty were hers, even as she lived.<\/i><\/p> My thoughts For further study: Consider these related ScripturesDear Lord, thank you for showing me that my mother\u2019s greatest battle was not against material lack or social injustice. The real war was spiritual. She was salt and light in the midst of a darkness that must have cried, \u201cYou\u2019re all alone on the battlefield.\u201d Nevertheless, I now understand that eternal life and liberty were hers, even as she lived.<\/i><\/h2>\n
As She Lived\n<\/span>My mother has known the ebb and flow\nOf pain and disappointment\nHer burden weighed by a legacy of toil and struggle \nWhen loving too often brought little reward\u00a0\n\nAnd being loved must have gone unnoticed:\nI hid my smile and withheld my embrace\u00a0\nClueless of their worth and power \nAnd so afraid to acknowledge my own need\n\nMommy was beautiful, despite the scar\u00a0\nShe carried since childhood \nA mule had kicked her, and the town veterinarian who \nDoctored colored folks back then was not too particular\n\nIn our domestic jungle of Stars and Stripes\u00a0\nThe natural head, lost and dethroned \u2013\nShe, left to do it alone, stood before me \nIn robes that did not fit and \nI believed that she (not the robes) was the wrong size\n\nSo young and spoiled by social exposure\u00a0\nI failed to acknowledge her efforts:\nThe sewing machine bought \u201con time\u201d and overpriced \nClothes from A&S \u2018cause Mays was no longer good enough \u2013\nYes, she gave and loved even more<\/pre>\nAfter my orientation at Fashion High\nWe stood on the corner of West 23rd Street\nShe peered into the coffee shop window \nAfraid to go in because no one in there looked like us<\/pre>\n
A man in Orthodox clothing overheard\u00a0\nAnd said we had the right to eat there\nWe turned and took the subway home in silence: \nThe year was 1967\n\nSome may say that looking back is a waste:\u00a0\nThe cry for equality is surely on the rise \nAnd with it, hope to break the pattern\nShe is here to see the beginning\nBut will these changes ease the legacy \nShe\u2019s lived for half a century?\n\nI am the fruit of her womb that started down\u00a0\nThe birth canal as she scrubbed floors \nMy freedom is a mixed blessing if \nShe\u2019s not alive to share it\u00a0\n\nI love her and have loved her as she struggled\nUnder the robes that shaped my life\nDespite her discomfort she\u2019s worn them well \nI\u2019m here today because she wore them\n\nI hope it isn\u2019t too late to let her know\u00a0\nThat she was not the wrong size\nAnd one day, see her stand before me \nHappy and righteously adorned!<\/pre>\n
\u201c\u201cHonor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.\u201d ~<\/b>Exodus 20:12<\/b><\/h2>\n
<\/strong><\/span>My Thoughts<\/span>
I grew up in Brooklyn during the 1960s. Having a mother who was born and raised in the Jim Crow South, my childhood was affected by things in her past. As she struggled to provide for us, I often failed to appreciate her\u2014or the God she trusted in. But in my 21st year, my eyes were opened enough to \u2018see\u2019 the treasure that she was. This poem was my Mother\u2019s Day card to her.<\/p>\n
Proverbs 1:8 \/Proverbs 6:20
Proverbs 31:26-27\/ Proverbs 31:30-31 \/ John 7:24
Matthew 16:26
Psalm 37
Jude 24-25<\/p>\nAs She Lived
My mother has known the ebb and flow
Of pain and disappointment
Her burden weighed by a legacy of toil and struggle
When loving too often brought little reward\u00a0
And being loved must have gone unnoticed:
I hid my smile and withheld my embrace\u00a0
Clueless of their worth and power
And so afraid to acknowledge my own need
Mommy was beautiful, despite the scar\u00a0
She carried since childhood
A mule had kicked her, and the town veterinarian who
Doctored colored folks back then was not too particular
In our domestic jungle of Stars and Stripes\u00a0
The natural head, lost and dethroned \u2013
She, left to do it alone, stood before me
In robes that did not fit and
I believed that she (not the robes) was the wrong size
So young and spoiled by social exposure\u00a0
I failed to acknowledge her efforts:
The sewing machine bought \u201con time\u201d and overpriced
Clothes from A&S \u2018cause Mays was no longer good enough \u2013
Yes, she gave and loved even more<\/pre>After my orientation at Fashion High
We stood on the corner of West 23rd Street
She peered into the coffee shop window
Afraid to go in because no one in there looked like us<\/pre>A man in Orthodox clothing overheard\u00a0
And said we had the right to eat there
We turned and took the subway home in silence:
The year was 1967
Some may say that looking back is a waste:\u00a0
The cry for equality is surely on the rise
And with it, hope to break the pattern
She is here to see the beginning
But will these changes ease the legacy
She\u2019s lived for half a century?
I am the fruit of her womb that started down\u00a0
The birth canal as she scrubbed floors
My freedom is a mixed blessing if
She\u2019s not alive to share it\u00a0
I love her and have loved her as she struggled
Under the robes that shaped my life
Despite her discomfort she\u2019s worn them well
I\u2019m here today because she wore them
I hope it isn\u2019t too late to let her know\u00a0
That she was not the wrong size
And one day, see her stand before me
Happy and righteously adorned!<\/pre>\u201c\u201cHonor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.\u201d\u00a0
~<\/b>Exodus 20:12<\/b><\/h2>
I grew up in Brooklyn during the 1960s. Having a mother who was born and raised in the Jim Crow South, my childhood was affected by things in her past. As she struggled to provide for us, I often failed to appreciate her\u2014or the God she trusted in. But in my 21st year, my eyes were opened enough to \u2018see\u2019 the treasure that she was. This poem was my Mother\u2019s Day card to her.\u00a0 <\/p>
Proverbs 1:8 \/Proverbs 6:20
Proverbs 31:26-27\/ Proverbs 31:30-31 \/ John 7:24
Matthew 16:26
Psalm 37\u00a0\u00a0
Jude 24-25<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-poetryspotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=592"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1054,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions\/1054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deborahjeankelly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}