A Mother's Love

I asked her if she was excited about the grandchild that would arrive soon. She answered, "I don't know", so softly, and with such sad eyes. Then in the few words of english she knew, a few gestures, and eyes full of emotion, she conveyed to me the worries and broken dreams of a mother coming to terms with the choices of her child. I asked again about her son, and again, the softly spoken "I don't know" with her eyes averted. She is alone here in this country, having left her parents and her husband in the only other one she ever knew. Her children have no one else, and so she works to provide for her son and to help her daughter thru the tough stages of a marriage entered into out of necessity rather than love. I do not see her often, and have a hard time communicating with her verbally, but there are so many things to admire about this woman. She seems to have survived life by sheer determination and love for her children. She is concerned for others. Many offers of help have been turned down because she doesn't want our family to "lose money". She is generous, giving me a present everytime I see her. Last time it was a bundle of noodles. I feel honored that she would share what she has with me. She has a sense of humor, and when I first met her she laughed often with her children. Now her children are older, and they do not listen to her warnings about the choices they are making. They are like all children, they love her, but they don't think she understands, and in some ways they are right. This country is very foreign to her. The frustration of it all is draining the humor out of her soul. I like her, and I like her children. I too think as she, that the choices they are making will make their lives harder, and by extension, her life will be harder too. But like all mothers, she keeps going forward, working every day without fail, arguing with the children, sending money home to help her family in that faraway place, tending to her mentally challenged brother. I don't know how to help her, so I pray for her. Please Lord, help this woman. She has tried so hard. Please lord, find a way to lift her burdens and bring her happiness. Please give all around her the wisdom and the spirit they need to reach out to her and help her through her difficulties. Amen.