As August ends, the RevGalBlogPals are sponsoring a #RallyRevGals Blogging Contest. The challenge is to write about  a woman who has been a positive influence on my ministry (whether or not she is/was a pastor). You can read more about it here… I think that I will be doing a series of blog posts on this topic, as the amazing women in my life come to mind. There are many of you (you know who you are!!) Thanks and I love you…

I started this post first, and have had a hard time trimming it to a blog post. You don’t need a biography about her. You just need to know something about her. For this post is about my mom… and it’s hard to put it into words.

First of all, she got us to adulthood. That’s no small task. Think of all the music lessons, concerts, parent-teacher conferences, permission slips, field trips, packing off to college and apartments… (We bow… we bow…)

Second, she encouraged our inner whimsy! Among her progeny, there is an artist/entrepreneur, a teacher, an analyst, a doctor, an engineer and a pastor/musician. (Oh yeah… the costumes? She made them or helped them magically “appear”.)

And perhaps most important of all, she taught us to learn from our mistakes and try again. And again. And yet again. All the while giving words of encouragement when we most needed it. All of us from time to time had moments in our lives where we just needed a phone call. Or a week at the beach. Or a surprise package from home. She has that “spidey sense”. It’s a skill I’m cultivating. 🙂

While she was not at my seminary graduation, she made the trek to my ordination. To have her and a contingent from my family present was an incredible gift. There was a lot going on that day that my family just “handled”… but knowing their love was with me was so important.

More than anything, she has taught me that life is something to be LIVED as long as you are alive. Not hanging around waiting to die… but enjoying the God-given moments of this life. With my dad’s death in 2000, she showed us the reality of grief, but the strength to move through it. This picture, taken a few years back, celebrates her sense of humor and her spirit for life. Her life-long faith birthed my own.

Thanks, Mom.