Leakage from a Cluttered Mind

Today we celebrated the life of my mother-in-law and remembered many of the ways she touched us.

One of my early impressions of Mom was that she ordered her life around a fairly strict set of rules. This fact was on my mind when I asked my wife to marry me.

We were on a date when I gave her the engagement ring and we agreed she wouldn’t show it to her parents until I talked with them the next morning. Well… that didn’t work. I had this sinking feeling when I arrived and saw my wife to be was wearing the ring.

So I mentally prepared for a reprimand from Mom—she’s too young; you’re still in school… Instead I got a big hug that was my welcome to the family.

So, Mom did have a set of deeply held values—a love of God, a love of family, and a desire to serve others. Those values are her greatest legacy to us. They rubbed off on us—to multiple generations. She’s gone from us now but her values remain.

And that’s why I’m so glad I got that welcoming hug into her family.