DailySusan Humor Blog

MOTHER’S DAY, PERSONIFIED

All of us mothers got beautiful Mother’s Day cards yesterday, praising us for things such as our beauty, grace and strength.

But I saw the true spirit of motherhood embodied this morning at a wonderful, wonderful funeral.

It was for Kayla, 15, a friend of my daughter’s killed in a car wreck last week. Yes, right before Mother’s Day. The outpouring of love has just been tremendous, but it’s still incredibly hard to take.

Both our families go to one of the largest churches in Omaha, and it was completely packed. Kayla’s mother is one of the soloists there. The family is well-known and very beloved.

My daughter and Kayla’s other fellow high-school chorus members filled the risers, dressed in cheerful spring colors at the family’s request. Among the flowers was a megaphone of red and white carnations, the school colors, because Kayla was a cheerleader. It was especially meaningful that the girl who was driving the car that night, Cori, and Kayla’s boyfriend, Ricky, both sat in the front row with the family.

Kayla’s sunny, loving personality was evident everywhere, from the touching slideshow set to her favorite Christian music, to the fact that her fuzzy mop of a dog, Toby, was in attendance.

What was breathtaking and astounding to me, though, happened at the beginning. Kayla’s mother, Shelly, although obviously beset by grief, still got up there to sing.

She sang a love song that ends, ‘’So I’ll say goodbye for now.’’

It was absolutely beautiful. Everybody just wept.

What power! What strength! To be able to get up there when your baby is dead, and sing a lullaby of hope and faith that you’ll see her again . . . to hit every note . . . and capture every heart for the kingdom of Christ.

It was beyond awesome. Shelly used the gift of music, that she shared with Kayla, to help others . . . and herself. There’s a Bible verse on this exact point: ‘’(I) will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.’’ (1 Corinthians 14:15b) Our pastor had just gone over that chapter a couple of weeks ago.

Shelly understands. And now countless others will, too, through her example.

What a tragedy, but what a Christian. What a mother. What an inspiration. What a message.

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Prayer request: A friend named Karen who recently lost her mother had a very hard time at this funeral. Her son is getting married in a short while. Lord, bless Karen with the strength of Kayla’s mother, so that the joy will overtake the pain. (1 Corinthians 15:22)