It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and my mom has lived in Heaven since November 1999. Some days I miss her, other days I can rejoice because of her. I still think twice before making a decision because I wonder “What would mom think about this, or that?”
My mom died from a massive heart attack on the Monday morning, following Thanksgiving Day in 1999. I remember talking to her that morning as she was dressing to head to an office meeting. She was complaining that she was “sweating profusely” while she was getting dressed and that her “makeup was dripping down her face” faster than she could “slap it on”. Four days earlier, on Thanksgiving morning she was complaining about “heartburn” and was sucking on a peppermint as she was doing her hair. Mom could always justify a problem with a reason – “Well, I have heartburn this morning because I was cooking and tasting all night, last night” and “I’m sweating profusely because I’m a bit stressed about this meeting” she would explain to me. These justifications always seemed to me to be her way of comforting ME during her challenges.
Sandra Bennett and I both received our final divorce decrees from our husbands just days apart, in October of 1995. As mom was divorcing my dad, I became her sounding board. At times, I would have to say to her “Ok now Mom, you ARE still complaining about my DAD!”. We cried together during those times as we had also found ourselves living together. She was caring for me and my two pre-school aged daughters while I was recovering from a life-changing car accident which took place in January 1995.
When I reflect upon some of the things my mom would say, or attempt to teach us, I now realize that Sandra Bennett was one of the smartest women in my life. She raised us in a Progressive Baptist Church, she sacrificed to send me to a private Catholic High School and she dedicated her life to educating, learning and leading in an inner-city school district. Of course, I’m a bit biased just like you probably are about YOUR mother, and that is why we now have Mother’s Day!
Yes, there will be an avalanche of social media postings about moms and motherhood. There are a plethora of women’s conferences and workshops urging your attendance – why, I even lead the Moms-n-Ministry traveling workshop with #TheTOURthatAngieBEEpresents and I invite you to come and LIKE us at http://www.Facebook.com/MomsNministry Motherhood is a special anointing from God beginning at conception, and never ending.
Even though my mom lives in Heaven, I continue sharing her “mothering” love and wisdom to my children, through our ministry and through perfect strangers too! I remember my mom would smile at people as we walked together, and you could hear her infectious laugh in the grocery store from three rows away! She would “force” you to do something that you initially thought you would hate to do, only to find how happy it made you later on. Mom knew what was best for you, even if you didn’t know it yourself.
What did YOU learn from a “mothering-type” in your life? How are you sharing that knowledge and wisdom with others? I know, she probably made you mad! Did you get “smacked in the mouth” or where you “cussed out” for coming home a little late? Were you punished? Did you have your keys taken away or were to told to either “go to college or get the hell outta here!” by the age of 18? Hmmmm
Moms don’t always sound like the Proverbs 31:10 woman, but they encourage and inspire us, just the same.
Dig deep and reflect upon the goodness of the Lord, as embedded in your mom and share that memory with another. Share this article and audio accompaniment with someone that you know as it may help them too! I dedicate this month’s article to my dearest sister/friend Lei Damaris and my literary cohort Donna M. Gray-Banks. They both are dealing with a first Mother’s Day without their moms. For the rest of you out there today that are new mom’s, I thank you! I thank Kristen Sloss for making me a “Granny” eight months ago and I thank my own sister Sonya Bennett for allowing me to be a “mothering-type” to her and my beloved niece… Baby Sandra Bennett. It’s Mother’s Day, so let the mothering continue!
With love and Blessings, I am
Evangelist Angie BEE
Mother to Angelyn and Jasmine
“Thank you for letting ME be your mom!”
Evangelist Angie BEE
Author, Producer, Promoter and Servant of the Lord
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