In Tribute to Momma...

 A Faithful Woman

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.  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 these years.  So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and life was good, and the young mother cried: "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then night came and storms and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close, 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 all the time she said to the children, "A little while, 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 at night, looked 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 them strength." 

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth - clouds of war and hatred 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 them the clouds and also an everlasting Glory and Light, and it guided them and brought them beyond darkness.  And that night the mother said: "this is the best day of all, for I have shown my children the face of God."

And the years passed, but her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage.  And at last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining roof and golden gates flung wide.  And the mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey.  And the children said: "You will always walk with us Mother, even when you have gone through the gate."  

Unknown Source