As the class 5A girls’ race came to a close, I watched a forty-plus-year-old mother—who was wearing patent leather shoes and a skirt and carrying a purse—run the last hundred yards beside her daughter. She saw no other runners. As she ran awkwardly—her long dark hair coming undone and streaming out behind her, giving no thought to the spectacle she made—she cried, “Run, Tami, run!—Run, Tami, run!” There were hundreds of people crowding in, shouting and screaming, but this mother was determined to be heard. “Run, Tami, run—Run, Tami, run,” she pleaded. The girl had no chance to win, and the voice of her mother, whose heart was bursting with exertion and emotion, was not urging her to win.
She was urging her to finish.
The girl was in trouble. Her muscles were cramping; her breath came in ragged gasps; her stride was broken, faltering; she was in the last stages of weariness—just before collapse. But when she heard her mother’s voice, a marvelous transformation took place. She straightened; she found her balance, her bearing, her rhythm; and she finished. She crossed the finish line, turned, and collapsed into the arms of her mother.
They fell down together on the grass and cried, and then they laughed. They were having the best time together, like there was no one else in the world but them. God, I thought, that is so beautiful. Thank You for letting me see that.
Yes, this is encouraging as a new parent. It is a picture of the kind of parent that I wish to be.
But more so, the message that hit my heart was of God's Father heart for me. I could hear Him whisper in my ear, run, Jasmin, run.
Being a Mum isn't a walk in the park. There are major rewards, but also incredible challenges and deep stretching.
Knowing that my Father is there, not requesting perfection, but encouraging me to finish well and do my best job... That is wealth.
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