Greater Love Has No One – A Tribute to A Beautiful Woman

I knew of an exceptionally pretty woman who was shy and slim with a round face, soft, sparkly brown eyes, a sweet and gentle smile, and just enough tiny freckles to make her prettiness look wholesome and fresh and young. She was smart and witty, had the most beautiful singing voice and in spite of being shy, had caught the attention of plenty of guys.

In time she fell in love with a kind young man with genuine, humble character and love for God that she could wholeheartedly admire and before long, they were married. Young and poor they were making the big decisions of what direction they would go with their lives. She could have pursued her music career (there was great opportunity and invitation) but instead she moved out, away from her family and friends to the middle of nowhere where her husband had been offered a small town teaching position. He was eager to sacrifice of himself to work hard to provide for his bride, and she was eager to go anywhere with him.

Before long, their family of two became a family of five and she learned to work harder and in more challenging conditions than ever before. She learned to churn her own butter and many other things to make a small teacher’s salary stretch to meet many needs. She learned the exercise of setting aside her own preferences to care for the needs of her family. Her soft, pretty hands became rough and sore from washing diapers and there wasn’t money for pretty new clothes. Gradually, and with a painful sense of loss, she let go of her dreams of doing what she loved and was admired for, her beautiful singing. Instead, in her small corner where no one could see, she chose to set her heart on a Savior who had sacrificed all for her and, as she faced the very real struggles in her life she turned her heart from what she was giving up and focused it in the direction of her little family. She embraced dying to herself. Then, with that beautiful voice, she sang of her Savior to her babies.

Three children grew to four, then four to five, and before long there were seven. Her waist was no longer as trim, her fresh young face was a little more wrinkled and tired, but it is impossible to love deeply without sacrifice, and in the sacrifice the pretty woman was developing beauty more lovely than ever before. And still, she quietly worked and served, day in and day out. She began her days with opening her Bible, looking to her Heavenly Father for the strength to meet the tasks before her. No one could count the billions of dishes that she washed, or the snotty little noses that she wiped, the dirty little feet that she bathed, the hurts that she tended to, the tears that she wiped away, the troubles that she listened to and sympathized with, the words of comfort and wisdom that she shared. She did it all for love. Love for her Savior and his beautiful example, and love for His little ones. She was not perfect, but being a humble woman she would’ve been the first to say so. She was not too good to let her children see her flaws nor too proud to apologize for them. But in spite of times of failure , she continued to love and mother them, praying that God would raise them in spite of her failures. He proved Himself not only attentive to her prayers but also lovingly filled her one of the most deeply joyful women I know. She did not give of the leftover corners of her life that remained after she had chased her dreams. She loved them with her life, and they all knew it. The song of her Savior was woven all throughout each their lives and now spills it’s beautiful notes into a new generation.

She is my mother. And as I sit here today with my four little people around me, tears fill my own eyes over the love and sacrifice that was spent on me that I didn’t deserve but deeply needed. Even now in her grandma years she continues to give richly of herself and wherever she goes, life, warmth and a Savior’s love are sure to be found.

When I’ve heard statements like “do what makes you happy” or “chase your dreams” or when I’ve been asked questions like “aren’t you afraid you might be missing out on your full potential?” I understand the kind care or concern being expressed behind those words, but when I think of my mother’s lovely example, I want to fight the urge inside of me to order my life for myself. I knew a woman who did not live for herself, but chose instead to follow her Savior’s example and she is my hero. What a fool I would be if I despised her truly beautiful example. She taught me what the words in John 15:13 can look like when it says:

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”