Happy Mother's Day

Mother’s day in Guatemala is celebrated on May 10th every year.  It is a time to reflect on and give thanks to our mothers (and all mothers of the world) for their love and devotion to our children and to our families.    

The life of a mother in the developing world is very different, in many ways, from what I have seen back home.  The daily routines of cooking, washing and caring for the children is an all consuming endeavor.  The gathering of wood to cook, the fetching of water to drink and wash, the carrying of laundry to the lake, the making of clothing for the family, the trip to the clinic with a sick child.... the day is endless and the next day the same.

At times it is hard to find many similarities between the world I came from and the world I am living in now, but in a “mother” I can see a commonality with the mothers I’ve known best: my mother, my children’s mother, my sisters and my mother-in-law.  Their primary desire being the wellness of the family, is a commonality of mothers I see here and the mother’s most dear to my heart.  

This commonality is shown in their unique ability to focus on the day to day needs of the family and exemplified by the gifts of calmness and directness at achieving those needs, often times in the face of great adversity.  What underlies these gifts is an undying compassion and love for their children and families.

So today I wish to say “thank you” to my mother, the mother of my children, my mother-in-law and to all the mothers of the world for their love, support, compassion and care that they gave yesterday, give today and will give tomorrow.

peace and love,

Brent

P.S. I wonder how much better the world would be if a few more mothers of the world were leaders of the world?