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And Happy Mother's Day to my wife too!
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“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in
your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once
for her child” (Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty)
Dear mother, Kuin anak Ladom,
Since your love is so special and so real, I want to take
a moment to tell you how I feel.
You’re the best sister in the family. In the past,
you had to let go of your own future to take care of your younger brothers and
sisters. You’re the best daughter—worthy of a place in the Malaysia
Book of Records. You obeyed your parents and feared them just a little less
than you fear God (Though some people may not agree, isn’t my opinion the one
that matters most to you?)
You’re the best wife any man could ever want. Like
the woman described in the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs (31:13–27, NCV), you are
indeed “far more precious than jewels.” “She likes to work with her
hands” is the perfect description of your philosophy in getting things
done. Because of your living example, I have no problem washing my own clothes
and doing the dishes after every meal. You “get up while it is still dark
and prepare food” for your family. When I was a kid, you would disturb my
peaceful sleep and wake me up with your signature motherhood attitude. (Yes,
even with your pink apron around your neck and a kitchen ‘tool’ in your right
hand—you ruled, Mom!)
Though you didn’t literally “burn your lamp late into
the night,” you showed your superhuman ability to wake up early and sleep
late.
Though you didn’t literally “make thread with your
hands and weave your own cloth,” you were great with that old-school sewing
machine.
Though you didn’t literally “make linen clothes and
sell them, and provide belts to the merchants,” if that culture had existed
in our country, I know you would’ve done it!
Most of the time, you “speak wise words,” and
since verbal communication isn’t your strongest suit, your actions amazingly “teach
others to be kind.” And last but not least, if I could interview angels to
testify about you, they would probably say: “She watches over her family and
never wastes her time.”
You are the best mother in the universe. What
today’s children call ‘abuse,’ you called discipline. What today’s
generation calls ‘spoiling,’ you called love. What today’s parents see as ‘troublesome,’
you gladly accepted as responsibility. You didn’t just feed us with rice and
breast milk—you fed us with love, obedience, faith, and integrity. The best
things a mother can teach a child are the ABCs and how to pray. And you taught
us – me and brother – both.
I
thank God for giving me you as my mother. Our Father in heaven never
makes mistakes—He chose the right mother for a troublemaker like me (and for my
brother too). If some parts of this letter have errors, exaggerations, or too
much praise, forgive me. But this much remains true: There is no mother
who could give love as true as yours, and there is no son who could love you
more than I do.
Happy Mother’s Day!
On behalf of me, Richard and brother Warren
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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