Honoring Mom—Whatever It Takes
I once heard someone say that the best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother. And there’s nothing better kids can do for their parents than to honor their marriage. The Bible says for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And He went to great lengths to demonstrate that love.
With the current Coronavirus outbreak there’s been a strain for some people to stay close, as lockdowns and quarantines have kept loved ones apart. But one man, 88-year-old Nick Avtges of Watertown, Massachusetts, was so anguished by his separation from his wife of 61 years that his kids went to great lengths to help them. Prior to the outbreak and the stay-at-home orders, Nick had been faithful in spending each day with his wife Marion at a local nursing home/rehab center, where she had been a patient for a year. And I mean EACH day. He never missed.
But of course the COVID-19 outbreak led to such facilities eliminating non-emergency visits. So his kids decided to do something about it. They reached out to friends on Facebook to see what they could do, and a few days later, Nick, wearing a mask and gloves, was lifted up three stories in a bucket truck to his wife’s window, where they shared a 20-minute (socially distanced) visit.
When asked if he was nervous about being up three stories Nick said, “They could have lifted me 10 stories and it would not have bothered me. As long as I got to see her.”
It looks like Mother’s Day is going to be tougher to celebrate this year (Father’s Day may be, too). Unless the Governor lifts the stay-at-home order early, we won’t be able to have our Mother-Daughter Celebration, though we’re looking at possibly doing another “Drive-In” service on Mother’s Day. So we’re going to have to be creative. But it’s important to honor her, whatever lengths you need to go to. And if you’ve had the blessing of having parents with a long, loving marriage, maybe honor that too. I love the Apple iPad commercial where the grandkids make a video of things about their late grandmother to give to their grandfather who misses her.
Our moms have gone to great lengths over the years to demonstrate their love for us. Let’s not let social distancing keep us from showing her how much we love her.