It’s been a little nuts around here lately. As the school year winds down everything is being crammed into the last few weeks.

Recitals with my piano students, appreciation dinners to plan, interviews for new staff, board meetings, and on and on and on.

When you add branding calves, irrigating, and all the ranch stuff that goes on in the spring, it’s easy to feel like we are only in the house long enough to mess it up and never clean it up.

A gift

As Mother’s Day approached I began to think about my mom.

When I pondered all the things my mom has taught me it became difficult to zero in on just one. She is an incredible human being, a gift to this world, and a blessing to me.

I finally settled on her gift of hospitality. Even when she is in a crazy season like I am right now, she is still the most hospitable person I know.

She raised 7 kids in a 1980 single-wide trailer. That means there were 9 of us in, what started out as, a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house. Yes, one bathroom.

Let me paint you a picture. If you were in the shower and someone had to go, well, you pulled the shower curtain closed and had a good chat while they used the toilet and you washed your hair. We were very……close.

Anyway, with that many people in a small home, you can imagine the house was not always spotless. Yet we often had people unexpectedly drop by (coincidentally, it was usually around supper time. Hmmm…)

Hospitality

My first instinct would be to meet them on the porch and, whatever you do, don’t let them see the house!

Thankfully, my mom was NOT that way.

She always believed in throwing an extra bean in the pot and welcomed expected and unexpected visitors alike. Messy house and all.

She has a way of making every person who walks into her house feel like she has been waiting for them to arrive. She greets with a smile and a hug while pulling up a chair and setting out another plate.

One person recently told me, “Walking into your mom’s house is like putting on your favorite sweater.”

I love the plaque Mom has hanging in her mismatched decor kitchen. It reads, “If you’re coming to see my house, give me six weeks notice. If you’re coming to see me, come anytime.”

I am so grateful that the Lord blessed me with a mother that knew the value of hospitality is greater than the fear of someone judging your housecleaning skills. A mom who knew that spending time her kids was better than having everything organized at all times. A mom who knew the importance of relationships. I am so grateful for the woman that she is. My mom.

I pray the Lord will make me into someone that can carry on her legacy and walk in her shoes. I pray that I can honor her and teach my children as much as she has taught me. I pray that every person who walks in my house will feel like they just put on their favorite sweater.

On this Mother’s Day, I cannot think of anyone worth celebrating more than the woman who gave me life and the knowledge of how to make the most of it by serving others.

Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.

Proverbs 31:29

Meet Mollie

 

Mollie is a lover of Jesus above all. She loves her husband and family and enjoys gardening, teaching, piano, riding, and farming. She lives in SW Colorado with her husband and five kids.