A MOTHER'S DAY PARABLE

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        Subj:  Re: Mother's Day Parable
        Date:  96-05-10 16:09:47 EDT
        From: JDANE99
        To:     Fretwell
        
        Hello Rev Fretwell,
        
        I would be surprised if this is new to you, but it's an interesting
story that probably can not be 
        told too often this time of year.
        
        Yours truly,
        Jim Dane
        Iowa City
        
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
        Mother's Day Parable
        
        The young mother set her foot on the path of life.  "Is the way long?"
she
        asked.  And the 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 thn these years.  So she played with her children, and
        gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed with them in the
clear
        streams; and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever 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, "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, "Mother, we would not
have
        done it without you."
            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.   Yes-
        terday 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 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 was little and bent.  But her children
were  tall  and  strong,  and 
        walked  with courage.  And when the way was hard, they helped their
mother; 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 they could see a shining road and golden gates flung
wide.
            And the mother said:  "I have reached the end of my ourney.  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."
        
                     Temple Bailey