Mom: Carole F. Rupp 1941-2005

I imagine this time of year is fraught with blogs about Moms….their contribution, their worth and all things celebratory.  (I had actually forgotten about it until I put on a Christian music station from America!)  Anyhow, I thought I would play along…and so, this post reflects a most remarkable person…my Mom.

Though she has now been in heaven 5 and a half years, with just a moments pause, I can remember the things that are so indelibly printed in my soul…marks that she etched with her life, strength and character.  Many of you have been tricked into believing that I have blessed your life, when in reality, it is mostly the fingerprints of my Mom that have touched you.  (My best friend Jen has figured this out and no longer gives me props for anything….)

Perhaps my very favorite thing about my Mom that still lingers in my mind is her love for knowing who I was, and encouraging me in ways that were so uniquely suited to me.  Many of you know the story of my Mom pulling me aside right before my wedding and saying to me:  “Well, it’s been great…have fun…it’s you and Buddy now and while you are always welcome at our house, you are never required to be there…go have fun”.  And with that, I walked down the aisle.

My Mom’s gift to me that day was uniquely suited to me…she knew she was giving her rather adventure-some daughter the freedom to run full speed ahead…she knew that by dropping any demands, she would woo me to her heart as a friend.  (She also spoiled Buddy rotten too…one of many things that kept us coming home!)  🙂

I love that my Mom never looked at her job as one that required payback, through grandchildren or time or living nearby…rather it was one that was fully and completely viewed as a launchpad for what God had called her kids to do.  Now, as an adult who has been called to live far away from family, I see how her making those unnatural choices have helped realize God’s will for my life.  I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but I sensed in many other ways her long-range desires for me and even for my children.

It’s just one of many things…and like everyone else on Earth, her greatest strengths could easily morph into something sinful and ugly.  She’s free from that now, so I can be too, and it’s just not that hard to remember the good things she gave me.  And what I shared above is just one of many…Cheers, Mom…thanks for modeling for me a life that confidently and ridiculously gave of yourself and your stuff and showed me how fun that really is.  Happy Mothers Day.