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Parable of Motherhood
By
Temple Bailey
The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is the way long?" she asked. And her guide said,
"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach
the end of it. But the end will be better than the
beginning." But the young mother was happy and she would not
believe that anything could be better than those years. So she
played with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and
bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them and life was
good, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will never be lovelier
than this."
Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark and the
children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and
covered them with her mantle and the children said, "Oh Mother, we
are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come," and the
mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have
taught my children courage."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead and the
children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary, but at all
times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are
there." So the children climbed and when they reached the top,
they said, "We could not have done it without you,
Mother." And the mother, when she lay down that night, looked
up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my
children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I
gave them courage, today I have given then strength."
And with the next day came strange clouds which darkened
the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil--and the children groped and
stumbled, and the mother said, "Look up. Lift your eyes to the
light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an
Everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the
darkness. And that night the mother said, "This is the
best day of all for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the
years, and the mother grew old, and she was little and bent. And her
children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the
way was rough they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at
last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining
road and golden gates flung wide. And the mother said, "I have
reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better
than the beginning, for my children can walk alone and their children
after them." And the children said, "You will always walk
with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the
gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and
the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot see her,
but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a
memory. She is a Living Presence."
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