Did you ever wonder how mothers are chosen?
Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger. Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, “Give her a premature child.”
The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She is so happy.”
“Exactly,” smiles God. “Could I give a premature child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.”
“But has she patience?” asks the angel.
“I don’t want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and necessary in a mother.”
“But Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”
God smiles. “No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.”
The angel gasps. “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?”
God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, there is a woman whom I will bless with a child in a less than perfect way. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a ‘spoken word’. She will never consider a ‘step’ ordinary. When her child says ‘Mama’ for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.
“And what about her patron saint?” asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.
God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”
by Erma Bombeck
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