I love this picture of my friend Sandy (she's mom #3 in the orangey shirt) hugging her son Duncan as he honorably returns from serving a 2 year mission in Leeds England. What a thrilling, happy day. These young men, and young women go off to lands foreign to them (even if it's Tennessee, USA) and faithfully give all their time and energy and resources and talents to God. Full time. 24 months. They are heroes in the Lord's cause. I can't help but think of the mom who just a short 18 years earlier held a tiny baby in her arms and loved him and cared for him and nurtured him and thought about the day when he would go off and be a missionary with hope in her heart and a little trepidation at the daunting task that was hers to teach and prepare and then to let go.
Missionaries come back with great stories and tremendous personal growth and strong testimonies and it's wonderful. The mom, she does something similar but it's more quiet. She prays, and worries and sends care packages and prays some more. She grows and changes but there are no heroic stories to share or inspiring lessons learned. It's a behind the scenes kind of heroism.
Yesterday in my personal reading I was in Matthew, Chapter 8 and I read:
14¶And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.
15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
Of course Jesus is the hero in this and every story. And Peter is his faithful disciple, his rock and a great, admirable, heroic man. My thoughts though turned to his wife. She's almost a footnote, we know her mother is sick, and then she gets well. But what else? What about the young bride that met and married Peter, started a family with him? Worked by his side to raise a family...and then one day her hard working, fisherman husband comes home and says he's putting aside his nets and following Jesus. This must be okay with her because later in the story they still share a home. I like to think that she too loved Jesus. That she too learned of His doctrine and listened at His knee. Maybe she fixed dinner for her husband and for the Savior. Maybe she had to work to support her family after Peter was off saving souls. Did she stand by Peter when he later lead the church? Did she lovingly comfort him after he betrayed the Savior, while secretly thinking that he was a big dumby? I don't know but she has a story, and even though we don't know her name, or anything about her except what we can infer from the few sentences that we read I like to think that she was a woman with faith to match her husbands, equally yoked in the work, a worthy help meet.
Life is interesting. Not too many people are the stars and in the spot light, there are lots of behind the scenes heroes and helpers. I hope my small role will be played faithfully and well. I do know that each person, and each life is important to the Savior and that His grace and atonement are for us all. For the bold leader, great orator, faithful missionary, stalwart home teacher, humble Bishop and for the lowly fixer of the hymnals, shy introvert, quiet supporter, worried doubter, the lonely, scared & depressed. It doesn't matter if we are a footnote or a main character He died for us.
Love that!
Of course Jesus is the hero in this and every story. And Peter is his faithful disciple, his rock and a great, admirable, heroic man. My thoughts though turned to his wife. She's almost a footnote, we know her mother is sick, and then she gets well. But what else? What about the young bride that met and married Peter, started a family with him? Worked by his side to raise a family...and then one day her hard working, fisherman husband comes home and says he's putting aside his nets and following Jesus. This must be okay with her because later in the story they still share a home. I like to think that she too loved Jesus. That she too learned of His doctrine and listened at His knee. Maybe she fixed dinner for her husband and for the Savior. Maybe she had to work to support her family after Peter was off saving souls. Did she stand by Peter when he later lead the church? Did she lovingly comfort him after he betrayed the Savior, while secretly thinking that he was a big dumby? I don't know but she has a story, and even though we don't know her name, or anything about her except what we can infer from the few sentences that we read I like to think that she was a woman with faith to match her husbands, equally yoked in the work, a worthy help meet.
Life is interesting. Not too many people are the stars and in the spot light, there are lots of behind the scenes heroes and helpers. I hope my small role will be played faithfully and well. I do know that each person, and each life is important to the Savior and that His grace and atonement are for us all. For the bold leader, great orator, faithful missionary, stalwart home teacher, humble Bishop and for the lowly fixer of the hymnals, shy introvert, quiet supporter, worried doubter, the lonely, scared & depressed. It doesn't matter if we are a footnote or a main character He died for us.
Love that!
What a wonderful thought, Lana. Thanks for writing and sharing this.
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