The Single Mother and Her Children

There was a young Mother living in the mid-west. Her husband had left her when her children were only two and four years old. It was a great struggle for her to raise her children alone but, nonetheless, she did as she must.

She did everything a good Mother would do. She fed her children; washed their clothes; read them stories at bedtime; took them to Church on Sundays and always helped them when they struggled.

Three years had passed and, one Christmas morning, the little family headed to Church for Christmas mass. The children loved this time of year and couldn’t wait to see what would be happening today at Church.

As they took their seats in the pews, they noticed the Pastor’s helpers wheeling in crates of flowers to the front of the church. “This is going to be something special I think,” said the daughter. She was the youngest and loved surprises.

The Pastor took to the pulpit and addressed his flock. “Today I would like to ask the children to come up to the altar and select a flower for their parents. Our Mommies and Daddies work hard all year to take care of us and today, let’s give them a little something in return.” The Mother’s two children eagerly walked to the altar, hand-in-hand, to select a flower for their Mommy.

One by one, the other children made their choices. The Mother’s two children seemed to be taking their time; not rushing but going through every crate carefully as if they were looking for something in particular.

As the other children walked past the Pastor, flower in hand, he stopped them and asked them why they had chosen this particular flower.  One little girl said, “I picked a rose because it means Love and I know my Mommy and Daddy Love one another.” Another little boy had chosen a lilac and he said, “I like the way this one smells ’cause it reminds me of my Mommy… she always smells so pretty.”

This went on for a few more minutes as the Mother’s children were still deciding. They were the only ones left at the front. Suddenly, they had found their choice. It was a rose as well but the stem was broken, the pedals hanging loosely and would surely fall apart. The church was silent. The Mother covered her mouth as not to gasp at her children’s selection. She was dreading the Pastor’s question to her children as he approached them.

“Why have you chosen this flower children? There were so many to choose from and this one is so droopy.” The children simply looked at one another not understanding why the Pastor would question their selection as they chose it from their hearts.

Now, the young little girl, somewhat afraid she had done something wrong, simply help-up the droopy flower to the Pastor and said, “Yes sir, all the other flowers were beautiful and smelled really pretty but this one, this one in my hand, needs our Mommy the most.”

Upon hearing this, there were nothing but tears in everyone’s eyes as who could have selected such a beautiful representation of how much these children loved and treasured their Mother.

The compassion of our Children, and the innocence of their hearts, should be a lesson to everyone. God bless them all!