And the Award goes to…

A fashionably dressed presenter rips open an envelope and announces the newest winner of the “something-or-other” award. The camera cuts to the audience, now standing and applauding. The winner makes her way to the stage to receive her trophy.

This scene, repeated several times a year is about as American as apple pie.

While I am all for honoring achievements and talent, I just wonder if we sometimes honor certain people and values to the neglect of other more important ones. The performance of musicians, actors, and celebrities is often placed above others who make outstanding contributions to life and society outside the limelight.

One important person that often goes unappreciated are our mothers!

Several years ago, I heard my friend Vae share about his mother in a moving way. Vae, who is from Samoa, spoke of his mother’s love and sacrifice. She not only cared for his physical needs, she was also aware of her son’s destiny. When Vae was old enough, she sent him off on a banana boat with three Dollars in his pocket to receive training as a missionary. This was all she had, the value of a month worth of wages. Even greater than the monetary sacrifice, she let her first-born son leave. This is not an easy thing to do in close-knit Polynesian culture.

After his training, Vae came to Canada. Here he led a successful ministry among First Nations Canadians for almost 20 years.

When I saw him last, he was wearing a button with a picture of his Mom. It was in remembrance of her; he had buried her just a few weeks before. As he shared his story, this strong warrior’s eyes filled with tears. He honored the incredible sacrifice his Mom had made to see him enter his destiny.

Yet, this wasn’t the sum of her influence. Vae’s Mom had also cared enough to help many other young people from her island. She helped them get trained and sent into mission fields around the world, often by taking out loans to raise the money for them. At her death, cards and gifts came in from many places around the world. It was evidence that her “mothering” had made waves far beyond her humble island home.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day again, let’s give an award to our mothers, for their outstanding love, care, and sacrifice for us.

“No man is poor who had a godly mother.”

Abraham Lincoln