There is this Bible verse I have read many times and often wondered, “What would that feel like as a mom?” Which verse am I talking about?
It is found in Proverbs 31:28: “Her children arise and call her blessed…”
This basically means that the mother’s children recognize her efforts. I mean, what mother wouldn’t want that?
I have heard many moms of adult children say that it isn’t until they start having children that they seem to get it. So I have tucked that away in my heart, holding it until the day it happens.
However, I was blessed enough to receive this gift much earlier than expected. What does it take to have one of your children recognize your efforts? Send them to basic training, or boot camp, depending on the military branch you are talking about.
Tomorrow it will be four weeks since my 18-year-old son left for basic training with the Air Force, a thousand miles away in Lackland, Texas. Although I knew leaving home wouldn’t be easy, at the same time I also recognized his independent nature might help.
He is the type of kid who had no problems taking a missions trip to Haiti last September with a small group of men from church that he didn’t really know. There were no friends on this trip with him.
He is also the type of kid who can go into a church service and sit by himself, without feeling awkward. And the same kid who tends to spend a lot more time with himself than with others.
Through a couple of phone calls and letters, I have been able to receive the gift of him blessing me as a mother. At such a young age he is really starting to “get it.”
He has recognized all I have done for him and expressed his appreciation. He tells me he loves me more than I have probably ever heard in all his 18 years of life.
But he also seems to be growing up fast with some powerful realizations. In fact, one of the most touching things he said in a phone call last weekend was this: “I have so many regrets. One of them is that I spent so much time in my bedroom instead of with you.”
Needless to say, I have had a few friends wish their children could experience boot camp. I tend to think every young person should go through it.
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