As we travel through the journey of life, we find ourselves before countless life stories and examples, somemake heart glad, others make it sad. While there are storiesbelonging to the world of heroism and sacrifice; illuminate the way before us, leaving theimprints of their footsteps for others to follow and be guided by, etched in the memory of time. Among the most profound, truthful, and noble experiences in human life is the pure love emanating from a “mother’s” heart. “Egypt” will celebrate “Mother’s Day” in two days. More precisely, celebrate love that flows like a river in a “mother’s” heart, irrigating all aspects of life.Today to celebrate her, we are to reflect on some of the characteristics of that great love that uniquely defines the essence of motherhood.
Unbounded Giving
The poet Khalil Gibran says, “Mother is everything in this life: she grants us consolation amid our sorrow, hope amid our misery, and strength amid weakness.” She truly resembles a flowing river delivering life to all its banks.Beauty. She is always preoccupied with giving and bestowing! Among the beautiful words about a mother’s character: “She is the only person who does not think of praying for herself,but she is always concerned with praying for her children.” Just as she prioritizes them before her all the time, she alsomay put herself for them in moments of danger and pain!
Love to the End
A mother does not care about herself as much as she cares about her children, unhesitatingly placing herself in harm’s way to save them. There is a story that took place in Japan: after one of its famously devastating earthquakes, rescuers reached the home of a young woman, and with difficulty, they saw her body through the cracks of her collapsed house. She was kneeling as if in prostration under its ruins, her back and head were broken! The leader of the rescue team placed his hand in a narrow opening in the wall to see if she was still alive! He knew she was dead! But his hand felt something strange; he exclaimed: A child! There is a child! The rescue team found an infant, no more than three months old, wrapped in a blanket under his mother’s body, after she had made herself the ultimate shield to protect him from death! He was asleep! The leader of the rescue team carried him and called a doctor to examine him; then, he found a mobile phone inside the blanket, with a message on its screen: “If you can survive, remember that I love you”!!!
Endurance and Unyielding Resolve
Motherhood is characterized by endurance mixed with love and patience without resentment. A mother’s soul is always ready to bear everything for her children, even when the children themselves mistreat her harshly! In her endurance, she never stops loving them, seeking their happiness, motivating and encouraging them, especially in their difficult times, as happened with Thomas Edison: his teachers, and even his father, the journalists Mustafa Amin and Ali Amin, rejected him, calling him “Thomas the Fool”! Immediately, Thomas’s mother stepped in, deflecting the arrows of mockery aimed at his heart, feeling their sting in her own, and she began to support him, never ceasing to encourage and support him, until the whole world recognizedhis wits, achievements, and inventions.
A Mother is a candle that burns to light the way for her children; the great writer Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti says, “A mother is a spring that emanates emotions of goodness and benevolence gush forth on earth.” She is the first being to share her children’s feelings. The dean of Arabic literature, Taha Hussein, recounts that while he was sharing food with his siblings from a large dish, his hand mistakenly strayed away from the dish, and he heard their laughter rising at him; at that moment, he heard his mother’s tears for him!
Writing History
It is no wonder that we see mothers making and recording history. The Russian proverb says,“Mothersbuild nations.”Surely, homelands are strengthened by their sons.Most certainly, its childrenare strengthened since infants in the cradle, as strength begins at home, in a mother’s embrace. A mother is the first teacher and influencer on her children. She is the first school where a child learns how to act, think and behave.Two clear examples are given in the Amin brothers: Mustafa and Ali; who gave fame to the concept of celebrating Mother’s Day in Egypt. Their mother was the spring of their love for the homeland and their inclination towards politics. Mustafa Amin often spoke of his mother’s influence on him and her patriotism during Egypt’s 1919 revolution. Hence, he learnt how to cherish his homeland. In celebrating Mother’s Day, I say to every mother: may every year find you in the best of health…. and stories of Beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
President of the Coptic Cultural Center
العربية
