Food for thought

Has one of your parents ever completely shocked your socks off? My mother did: years ago.

For years, Mom seldom gave any statement about things political. That was my father’s job or right as the head of the household. Then Daddy died of a massive heart attack in 1981. Ted (Chisai) was killed seven months later when a young man ran a stop sign, and my youngest brother got married: All in 8 months. Mom had a lot of grieving and adjusting to do.

Mom was a prayer warrior and a pastor’s wife. From the time she was little, when Mom prayed, she reached Heaven. When Dad served little churches and there was no one to play the piano, Mom chorded the old hymns. Mom, as far as I knew, never wrote a letter to any elected official about any issue.

As she grew older and survived many health problems and the family losses, she kept her thoughts to herself most of the time. However, on one of my trips home with Brenna, someone on TV was talking about prayer in schools, how prayer needed to be brought back.

I noticed my mother in deep thought, her head resting on her left hand, one finger on her cheek. She pursed her lips, shook her head, and I heard her say, “Don’t want prayer back in school.”

After I picked up my chin off the floor, I asked her why.

“Because. If we bring back prayer in schools for Christians, then all the other religions will want their kind of prayer, too. I don’t want my grandchildren exposed to those other gods.”

I was stunned at her comment. Then in the months of Brenna’s illness, I read Sen. Danforth’s book on politics and religion. He made the statement that the United States was no longer a Christian nation. We are a mix of many faiths and many ethnic backgrounds and all must be recognized as equal. That was food for thought.

While Brenna came to our family VIA adoption, she carried many traits of her grandparents. Brenna was like my mom on issues. She thought hard before commenting and her statements gave me something to remember, perhaps a new idea that would change my way of thinking on issues.

I miss my mother and her insight.

I miss my little girl and the wisdom she shared with me.

I hope that someday, someone can say the same about me that somewhere I shed a bit of light in someone’s life and allowed change to come to my heart and ideas.