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The Crawford Stand. This weekend we celebrate our family heroes who work so hard to raise families, the very foundation of America. This week, Don Crawford, president of Crawford Media Group, talks about the cornerstone of any family. That would be mother.

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In our world, love rules. Love rules. Love is the highest attribute. It is the most important and fundamental characteristic of all humankind. And perhaps the finest expression of love is mother love. The definition of mother, a real mother, is simply put, love. A mother’s love is the ultimate human love. It is said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Perhaps so, because so much of a child is formed in the early years by mother. One is in life so much of what a mother was. A real mother is part of the life of a child forever. What we learn at mother’s knee is so often what we are. Her values become ours. We are her. The egg of a woman is the source of all life, the fundamental stuff of the universe, and when fertilized by the sperm of the male, life, life, the most precious thing of all happens. The egg and the sperm unite and become one, but it is God, it is God who gives life. And at that very moment of conception, the life of a human being begins at that very moment. That life is not a mere collection of cells, as one biologist so flippantly said. But in reality, the first moments of the life of a human being, a child on the grow in the womb, that fertilized egg is a baby. A baby. So much for abortion which is nothing more than murder of that baby at any stage in the womb. Any stage. And so the mother begins mothering and the baby grows. The enriched womb of the mother nourishes and cherishes the baby, sensitive to every need. The morning sickness is a small price to pay for the life within. Moods and diets may change as the womb grows large and beautiful. It is really wondrous to behold the change of mother in the making with that womb at work. What a marvelous miracle. And it is marvelous indeed to touch the nine-month home of that child. The ear presses down, hoping to hear any sound from the baby. Touching, hearing, kissing, sensing life at work are really more important than any ultrasound. And the baby knows. The baby knows. It is God at work through Mother Nature creating life in a most wondrous and miraculous way. It’s just unbelievable. Some today are actually privileged to see the baby born. Out of the womb comes a bundle of joy, of life, and yet another miracle happens. The pain of childbirth is so well worth the end result. Thank you, Mother. And perhaps it is the most loving moment, the ultimate loving moment, when brand new baby lays firm on mother’s breasts. What a moment that must be! Having seen that myself, how, I wonder, could any potential mother abort? How could she kill her very own child? To do so is to abort a miracle. Early on it is the still small voice of the mother which is perhaps the greatest teacher in life. We, the once infants, hear that voice and remember what the voice of our mother sounds like and what she says for a lifetime. We do so consciously and perhaps even more importantly, subconsciously. That loving voice in many ways is angelic, the early words of love. They come with touch, and they are spiritual, psychological, character-forming, and building. The love of a mother is every bit as important as food itself. So, in a sense, these early words we hear from her are eternal, for they train up the child. They train us up in the way in which the mother wishes us to go. And to grow and mature, as we must, is not to depart from the right ways of the mother. The words of a mother to her child are melodic, soothing, comforting. They support and encourage, and they make a child feel safe. A mother touches, hugs, strokes, talks, and sings to her baby. Episodes never to be forgotten. When all else fails, and all others as well, a truly loving mother never does, never. She is forever, mother is. She is eternal. A loving mother is kind. In a world rough and confrontational, the kindness of the mother is a most necessary characteristic. A loving mother is never jealous, never envious, always willing to put the child first in love. A real loving mother is proud of her child, no matter what the child becomes. Motherly love is always positive, not negative. It looks for the best, the good, and the right. But the mother renders discipline when things are wrong. The love of a real mother is tough love. That love has standards, clear, straight, and simple, and lovingly communicated. Real love is without compromise. A loving mother never bargains with a child. A mother explains and answers perhaps better than any teacher, helping a child to understand. A mother stretches but never pushes, knowing that her child must be challenged in order to grow. There is always demand and discipline from the right mother, both easy to implement when the child knows he or she is loved. A loving, godly mother makes certain her child understands her standards and values, and those of God as well. A loving, godly mother teaches the child the things of her Lord. Train up that child in the ways of faith, of Christian faith, the faith of the mother. And when that child is old, that child will not depart therefrom. There is no better witness for the child than a loving Christian mother, living life by these standards and the child along with her. That is faith with works, the best kind. A real loving mother gives time, quality time, to the child. There is for mother and child that quality time to talk, and much more importantly, and especially for mother, to listen. That is so difficult today, to listen. In an age of cell phones and babysitters and fast foods and carpools and demanding social life, all of that and everything else should never, ever interfere with quality time spent by mother with child. Truly listening and touching and hugging and encouraging, respecting the child produces some of life’s finest lessons for that child. Those bonding moments are, as one psychologist has so well said, they are peak moments, peak moments in the development of the child, never to be forgotten by either mother or child. Patient, kind, and understanding is mother. Truly interested in the life of a child, not superficially so. Perhaps that is why so many mothers wished more than ever, so we are told, to stay home. To stay home. To build that home for husband and child and all children. And to spend full time training up that child in the way in which he should go. That is what mothers are for. and no other job can ever come close to that incredible responsibility and opportunity. No matter how much love given, child rearing is work and hard work. It demands the time of the mother at all times. The real needs of a young child are great, and they demand full time, mother always on the ready. How beautiful it is for father and husband to watch the baby breastfeed. How beautiful to see mother and child so intimately and sensitively connected. There is special nourishment from the milk of the breast, but there is also the psychological nourishment, the nourishment of love and bonding, one with each other, the young and often subconscious memories lasting for a lifetime. A mother’s touch, her feel, and her taste are vitally important to the growth of the child. Some mothers homeschool. They want to train up that child in the right ways themselves. Others work to send the child to special schools, private schools, or schools of faith. Loving mothers are more than willing to sacrifice to accomplish the right objectives for the child they love. And all the while, a mother encourages the love of a father for child and the child for the father. There is respect as important as love between mother and father, husband and wife. There is a sense of equality as both parents love their child in different ways. Perhaps the love of a father for a child is different, but as the child grows and matures, the love, the real love of a real father becomes as important to the child as that of a mother. Without both loves, something fundamental is missing. so that when a child is ready for the world and independence and a life for him or herself, both loving parents have formed the young adult and are ready proudly to watch a brand new life unfold. They have earned, these loving parents have, the right to be proud parents. Small wonder that loving children love to give back. There comes a time when the priorities are reversed, and the child becomes the support, the loving support of the parents. Loving children love to give back to loving parents. That love which began in the womb is eternal. It never fails. It recycles. It continues. It outlasts faith and hope and all the wisdom and riches of the world. a mother’s love endures forever even as the love of christ does and so it is with the deepest admiration and respect and love that we all of us at crawford broadcasting company salute all real loving mothers on mother’s day and in fact all year long If you are a loving mother, you are special. There is one day set aside to honor loving mothers, which in reality should be done every day of the year. We are admonished, commanded, commanded to honor our father and mother. It is a commandment that we honor real loving parents with our love and respect, not one day, but every day. Give back the love you owe to your mother. Give it back with tears, with laughter, and with joy, and with gratitude and thanksgiving for all that she has done for you. Let her know how much you love and appreciate her, knowing as you do that you can never, ever repay the loving debt you owe to her. No child can ever give back all that he or she has gotten, never. If your mother is here with you, make sure she gets what she deserves. There are so many mothers like mine not here. My mother is with her Lord as she has been for more than a quarter century. How much I would love one more opportunity to give her one more hug. Do that for your mother while you can. We salute you and thank you, Mother. There is really nothing, nothing like you in this world. Nothing.

SPEAKER 02 : 12:28

Mr. Crawford would love to hear from you this week and know what you think about what you heard about Mom. Do you have a special story you could tell him? Do so in your email to stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you do, be sure to tell Mr. Crawford on what station you hear the stand. The address again is stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you want to review what you hear, go to our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Media Group and this station. Serving God and country, I’m Bill McCormick.