A Very Special Love

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." John 19:27b

In the movie "A Very Special Love", starring John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo, there was a part where Layda, played by Sarah, forgets her mother's birthday because of her work. Work was up to her neck, that she forgot the day of the woman who bore her, who nursed her and who loves her.

Who would forget such a special day? Not my family. Not me.

Today is my mother's birthday. She has been dead for some years yet she is still alive in our hearts and life. For many reasons, our mother is unforgettable.

• She spoke when she wanted to speak notwithstanding what others would say about her. At one PTA meeting, she brought her mind to the gathering and she got voted as the Vice-President.
• She would fight for what is best for her children. She sold vinegar and charcoal for her to support our studies. She never mind to smell like the liquid and have black dirt in her hands.
• She brought us close to God. She bugged us to come with her to church and afterward would treat us at the kanto for barbecue or sliced pakwan.
• She never taught about the Bible. But we know she read it, because we read it in the way she lived.
• She reached high school education yet she wanted us to reach for more. Now, we are living our dreams, her dreams were fulfilled.
• She will take the pain so the family won't. When she was at her deathbed, she did not want us to bring her to further medical attention. She knew we were running out of money, but we were not running out of her love.
• She lived with her sister in law, in all her married life. They had differences and we saw how she loved in spite of.
• She encouraged us that there's no time to be wasted, that there is something somebody can do for someone. And that somebody is her.

I can go on and on but let's take that next year.

I join my brothers and sisters in remembering our mother.  As my siblings in the Philippines visit her grave and as I visit her in my heart, we behold her. We behold her for she loved with a very special love.