On Mother's Day 2022
by Michael Doyle
We're here in celebration of no other
Than the holy names of our mothers
At this time of blessed worship
We raise up this sacred relationship
Let's bring it in intimate conversation
Shared love in its happy intimation
Given the power of our full attention
Love is brought with the right intention
Along with the grace of morning sunrises
Life comes with the best surprises
Parenting imperfectly but always persisting
Present in this life without hesitating
Bringing up their children they raise
In instruction in the ways of God to praise
Serving as example is what they see
The lives lived are learned as theology
In this season, they raise to contentment
They do their best to bring love not resentment
Though we all wish for a sense of simplicity
This life is filled with its complexity
This world cannot help but be filled with uncertainty
But it must be said with some true urgency
That gratification is something to delay
Learning to live with a little anxiety is here to stay
There is a lot over which we have no control
In this life of faith, our lane is to play our roles
Finding the peace beyond all understanding
Comes with faith, and over control, releasing
A mother of compassion teaches the good fight
Through her faith passed on and bringing light
In every moment of the day, she brings confidence
However much this life can be endlessly relentless
Mother and father too bring their full affirmation
Bringing truth in with their loves' full confirmation
That each child is gifted in our own unique ways
False arrogance must step back for self-esteem these days
Pain and parenting serve as catalysts of theology
Driving deeper than any matter of biology
We push to beyond ourselves to bring the better
While knowing we'll never be perfect to the letter
Parents dress their children in their instruction
Bringing love not destruction in helping life's construction
Not in an air of fostering artificial harmony
But in honing a relationship that finds its tranquility
Raising children to be all they can be and complete
And not in an environment in which they must compete
True dialog brings a true direct communication
Smoothing the edges to conflict's successful resolution
In these ways parents help to bring the conviction
Of guidance not guilt pressed into fruition
To produce that something more of full substance
That keeps love real and staying in relevance
In helping to build lives of godly character
And guiding away from what brings disaster
Proctoring and embracing a moral compass
To protect the best of what must always last
Sins have consequence but not final conviction
Consequences that aren't meant as final condemnation
But given in grace so that the best things are possible
If we as parents bring all of which we're capable
Leaning into a world filled with quickening pace
By keeping God's lessons in our children's embrace
A mother's love helps to sustain endurance
Ensuring the light of God brings its forbearance
For the influence in bringing adults to the world
With their flags of love and grace unfurled
A mother and a father's jobs are never really done
Neither with the rising or the setting of the sun
(c) May 8, 2022 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
First Principles: Let the American Youth Never Forget, That They Possess A Noble Inheritance, Bought By the Toils, and Sufferings, and the Blood of Their Ancestors
“Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.” – Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833