Everybody has had a mother.  All mothers change the world when they deliver a new person into its midst.  A delightful Jewish proverb says, “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.”

Though we could mention a host of moms who have played an active role in the shaping of our history, some come more quickly to mind.  Consider these:

• Mother Teresa—Though not a literal mother, this woman “mothered” thousands of needy souls and ultimately won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
• Grace Darling Seibold—Mrs. Seibold started a group called the Gold Star Mothers after losing her son in the battles of World War I.  The Gold Star Mothers made it a point to visit and care for servicemen in hospitals throughout the country.
• Dale Evans Rogers—The woman who wrote “Happy Trails” was often in the midst of pain as she lost three children.  She continued to show a positive face to America and inspired the work of a children’s hospital for mentally challenged youth.
• Jackie Kennedy—The woman who became an icon of strength upon the death of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.  She brought up her children to honor and respect others and kept protective watch over them for the rest of her life.
• Nancy Hanks Lincoln—The mother of our 16^th President Abraham Lincoln is forever cherished by these words from her famous son.  “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.”

As we think about mothers who have shaped history, we have to applaud every mother who has tirelessly, relentlessly, and stubbornly held on to her hope, her belief and her love for her children.  As Washington Irving so eloquently stated it…

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

Happy Mother’s Day to the millions of nurturing women who make history by shaping the lives of their children and who give us hope for the future by their great devotion and love.