Mothers Group Reflection #22: Keeping The Story Alive



For her birthday last fall, I bought a keepsake box for my mom filled with writing prompts on small cards that we could mail back and forth and work on together to create a memory box over time. Since we now live 1,200 miles apart, it is a small way to keep the connection alive and to keep a written record of the old family memories. As we were all were gifted with a somewhat twisted sense of humor, these cards promise to be a lot of fun. One of my favorites so far asked us to list favorite pieces of advice we received from our moms. I thought of all the serious advice she has given over the years, and yet the thing I remember most was not said, but lived. It is her humility and gentleness that she shows in her actions each day. It wasn’t phrases she used that I could pass along in words so much as it is just her being. But as I sat down to write, somehow, it was the not-so-serious stuff, her sense of humor, that made for the best memories, the things we still laugh about, that still draw us together:

1. Advice for boredom: “Spit in your shoe and watch it soak through.” (Catchy rhyme, totally grossed us out and usually led to complaint number 2...)
2. Knowing your true identity: “Mom, I’m bored.” Answer: “Funny, you don’t look like a piece of wood!”
3. When considering something that will probably end poorly (i.e. we finally found something to do): “Somebody always gets hurt.” (this was said with that motherly tone of warning and a sideways glance that said we should probably reconsider sooner rather than later, and was usually ignored anyway, to our peril)
4. General advice for all situations: “Be careful!”
5. My personal favorite: The Old Wives Cure for Headaches (you know, the not-really-that-bad-I-just-feel-like-whining-kind): “Have someone jump on your back so hard you forget about your head.”
6. And last but not least, advice for those situations where we came running to mom, both pointing fingers of blame at each other for whatever thing we decided to do after ignoring advice point #3: “It’s six of one and a half dozen of the other.” Ugh. Really?!

Total groaners. All of them. And yet we laugh about them to this day and pass them along to our own children who also groan at us, as we chuckle at our own memories. I suspect many of these have been passed along for a few generations. The collective groan goes waaay back, I’m sure. As we worked on these cards, I had to wonder at the comments of those that will come long after we are both gone from this earth, wondering what on earth is wrong with us. We tossed around the idea of putting a disclaimer somewhere inside the box in fine print that reads, “If you are reading this today and don’t get half the jokes and silently wonder why we are so weird, just remember that you are related and it doesn’t breed out!”

Funny though these old memories are, they are also incredibly important, too. I remember reading in an article or Bible study somewhere awhile back that part of the reason young people today feel lost in life is that they have forgotten their story, their identity. I wish I could remember who the author was that said this. It was great life advice. This doesn’t just go for our own personal family histories though, it applied in a much broader way to the story of salvation, in which we all have a part. When we forget to Whom we belong and the purpose for which we were made, to love and be loved by our Father in heaven and to love and serve Him in others, problems ensue.

In our Lenten retreat, our speaker talked at length about the importance of taking time to immerse ourselves in the Scriptures. Actually opening the Bible and reading it for ourselves, as well as the Catechism, and taking a deeper look at our faith. She made the point that although we are immersed in Scripture in the Mass readings throughout the years, as Catholics, we can sometimes forget to actually open the Bible itself.

I think this is a point well made and one I often take for granted to mention. I often neglect this practice myself for the very reason that we are so immersed in these readings in the Mass and I like to follow the daily readings as they are in the Missal or various publications, in union with the Church worldwide. This in itself is a very good practice as the readings are set to the liturgical calendar and we will learn much about Jesus and the practice of our faith. However, what we can miss by not cracking open the actual book is the surrounding context of the daily reading and even how those stories fit together into the larger salvation history.

As our speaker pointed out, there is no need to feel intimidated if you don’t know where things are. It just takes practice, and we all have to start somewhere. I still have to go the table of contents or rely on tabs for many books, even after many years of Bible study. I actually find the tabs to be very helpful for that reason also, because if you do enjoy deep Scripture study, you will find yourself going all over the place to cross-reference things and quickly getting irritated by having to find each book, particularly the smaller or less used books. Many Bibles will also include an introduction at the beginning of each book to explain a little of the history, setting and purpose of the book, whether allegory, history, poetry, etc.

As we enter into Holy Week, I encourage you to try something new, if you haven’t already. A few years ago, I sat down to read one of the Passion narratives in its entirety, in one sitting, during Holy Week that year. I’ve heard the challenge to read an entire book of the Gospel in one sitting, just to get the overall feel and thrust of the story, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fast reader and that feels completely overwhelming. That said, we can all find time for the story of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection in one go. Each Gospel has it’s own focus and each witness recalled different details, so you may be drawn to one particular book over another. Whichever one you choose, I know it is a great blessing to see the whole story in one sitting. What surprised me most was the experience of Jesus’ overwhelming love washing over me in that moment. I wasn’t looking for details as I would in Scripture study. I was just seeing Jesus and immersing myself in the scene at hand. Should you find yourself in a dry period in your journey, do not despair, but continue to meditate on it as you are able and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you in time.

I don’t know what your schedule allows for, but I encourage you to also participate in as many of the Holy Week services as possible as we walk this last week of our journey together and relive the beautiful story and gift of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. I close today with a new song that came out recently. I hope it is a blessing to you also as we draw near to Jesus and celebrate His resurrection and the new life He brings to each of our lives this Easter. He is risen!

“Is He Worthy?” by Chris Tomlin

Thoughts for further reflection:
How do you usually celebrate Holy Week? How can you incorporate the Scriptures and Masses into your schedule this week? Consider creating some time in your schedule each week in order to immerse yourself in the full salvation story in the Bible.


Photo Credit: Aaron Burden, StockSnap.io

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