Dear God:
Now that I am no longer young, I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them.
I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her more each day.My mother does not change,but l do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. How sad that l am unable to speak these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.
How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the clay when a daughter realizes how wise her mother really is?
How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice (when asked) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? For not saying,"1 told you so,"when she could have uttered these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself--loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving?
I don＇t know how, dear God, except to ask you to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.
A daughter
為母親祈禱
親愛的上帝：
由於我已不再年輕，我的一些朋友的母親已經過世了。我聽到這些子女說他們從未充分珍惜過母愛，而待他們意識到這一點時為時已晚。
有幸我母親還健在，我對她的感激之情與日劇增。母親未變但我變了。隨著年齡的增長，心智逐漸成熟，我才意識到母親的偉大。我感到悲哀，這些話在她面前我就說不出來，但卻可以輕松地出現在我的筆下。
一個女兒應如何感謝她的母親給予了她生命?如何回報母親在養育孩子時所付出的愛、耐心和辛勤的勞作?還有她跟在蹣跚學步的孩子後面跑或她對情緒多變的青少年的理解及對飽讀詩書的大學生的容忍，以及她耐心的等候，直到女兒意識到她的偉大之處的那一天的到來?
一位成年女性應如何感謝母親仍繼續扮演她的角色?是因為在女兒向她請教時能隨時給予建議或在建議得到女兒的感激時她會保持沉默；還是因為她不說「這事我告訴過你」，而本來她能多次重複這句話的；或者是因為她就是一個自愛、考慮周到而又有耐心和寬容之人?
上帝啊，除了請求您保佑她盡可能得到她應得到的並幫我向她樹立的榜樣看齊外，我不知道再求您做什麼啦。我祈禱我在子女的眼中能像母親在我眼中一樣美好。
一個女兒
- Keywords : mother, 耐心, 母親, these, daughter, 感激, 子女, 女兒, 偉大, words, thank, mothers, being, appreciated, 養育孩子, 飽讀詩書, 面前, 青少年, 重複這句話, 這事
