What a Friend

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:1-6

Today I sat on Mother’s Day and just really thought about my mom, looked at pictures, and memories flooded my mind. Flashes of our life play together in my mind everyday, but today of course, it always hits me. Brother Scott shared these verses and how a mom shepherds, cares for her children, and uses the rod to defend her children when they go through tough times.

Today I thought about what a friend I had in my mom. I’ve never really looked at it this way before. I thought about the many times my mom stood up for me. Sometimes these times involved very embarrassing moments. My first memory of my mom standing up for me was over a tootsie roll. I was in first grade. My mom always was the pick up mom. She picked up around five of us. Brenda, my mom, always had some sort of snack for us to eat in the car. On this particular day, Brenda had tootsie rolls for us. I passed around the bag. As it got back to me, I reached in to grab one. A friend of mine whispered to me, “If you don’t give me that last tootsie roll, I will not be your friend.” I was a very laid back kid and really didn’t care about having the last tootsie roll and my mom, I think, knew that. Before I knew it, Brenda had pulled the car onto the curb, looked at me with the scary look she would get, and said, “Susan, eat that last tootsie roll right now!”

My mom was the sweetest person I ever knew, but when it came to her girls, she had a very different look in her eye. She always called us using our middle names which are, Jennifer Faye, Susan Kelley, and Rhonda Gayle. Another memory that comes to mind, came later on in elementary school. At this time, my sisters and I rode the yellow school bus. There were some high school boys who always had the “back seat.” They were a little intimidating. I avoided eye contact on most days. My little sister, Rhonda, had been getting picked on for a while by the back seat boys, and she made the mistake of telling our mother. The next day, Brenda walked onto the school bus and told the back seat boys what she would do to them if they ever bothered Rhonda Gayle again. I will never forget this day. Even though it was terribly embarrassing, I knew how much my mother was for us.

No matter what I ever did, or how many times I broke my mom’s heart, she always rooted for me. I learned from my mom what being a protective parent is and what a mom’s heart looks like. I just never really looked at my mom as a friend. But today, it just really hit me. What a friend I had in my mom!

Sometimes when I am in a store, a tootsie roll catches my eye. I smile and have a little giggle, and think of my mom. No other friend can ever compare to a protector like my mom.

Counting My Blessing,

Susan Browder