If Only I Had Known!
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series II Cycle A
Diane, by her own admission, was a difficult teenager who often gave her mother a tempestuous time. She described herself as being willful, stubborn, and independent. Frequently Diane would stay out well past her curfew, and several times she did not return home until the next morning. Notes were sent home from her teachers, informing her mother of her misbehavior at school. There was even that time when a police officer brought her home, having arrested her for underage drinking. By her actions Diane made life very trying for her mother. Through all Diane's rebellion her mother never gave up on her. She never stopped loving her. She never stopped hoping and praying that somehow her daughter would change. Her mother just gave and gave. She gave unselfishly, not receiving anything in return but grief, yet she constantly showered her daughter with love and affection. Her mother never gave up on her.
When Diane was old enough, she moved away from home, telling her mother in no uncertain terms that she would never return. For nearly twenty years Diane had minimal contact with her mother.
She did not call her on the telephone, and she never sent a birthday card or a Mother's Day card. Nothing. Diane had moved several times and did not bother to give her mother her new address. It would be difficult if not impossible for her mother to find her, let alone communicate with her. No communication occurred between mother and daughter for almost two decades. During that time Diane found a job she enjoyed and also met someone whom she married.
One summer Diane and her husband hosted a difficult thirteen-year-old from the city. This young, distraught girl gave Diane a troublesome time. It did not take Diane long to realize that this was how she had treated her own mother. Now the shoe was on the other foot, although just for six weeks. That summer Diane realized how much her mother loved her to have put up with all her rebellion. For the first time she understood that her mother loved her despite everything she had done to upset her.
At the end of the summer Diane called her mother to thank her for loving her through some difficult times. It was the first time they had spoken in years. Diane told her mother, "I never realized how much you gave me and how hard it must have been for you." A mother-daughter relationship that had been strained for years and years was now beginning to heal, thanks in part to a mother who never stopped loving her daughter. The next weekend Diane and her husband went to visit with her mother. Diane and her mother stayed up all night, talking and crying.
When Diane was old enough, she moved away from home, telling her mother in no uncertain terms that she would never return. For nearly twenty years Diane had minimal contact with her mother.
She did not call her on the telephone, and she never sent a birthday card or a Mother's Day card. Nothing. Diane had moved several times and did not bother to give her mother her new address. It would be difficult if not impossible for her mother to find her, let alone communicate with her. No communication occurred between mother and daughter for almost two decades. During that time Diane found a job she enjoyed and also met someone whom she married.
One summer Diane and her husband hosted a difficult thirteen-year-old from the city. This young, distraught girl gave Diane a troublesome time. It did not take Diane long to realize that this was how she had treated her own mother. Now the shoe was on the other foot, although just for six weeks. That summer Diane realized how much her mother loved her to have put up with all her rebellion. For the first time she understood that her mother loved her despite everything she had done to upset her.
At the end of the summer Diane called her mother to thank her for loving her through some difficult times. It was the first time they had spoken in years. Diane told her mother, "I never realized how much you gave me and how hard it must have been for you." A mother-daughter relationship that had been strained for years and years was now beginning to heal, thanks in part to a mother who never stopped loving her daughter. The next weekend Diane and her husband went to visit with her mother. Diane and her mother stayed up all night, talking and crying.
