Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Mother's Day Post

Ryan and I thought we'd honor our mothers by finding scriptures that best illustrated their lives and teachings.


Dorrie Sherrill


Psalms 91: 2, 14 &15
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

My mom, while blessed with a multitude of talents and testimony, has had many trials in her life. Through it all, and starting as a little girl, she has always turned to the Lord and stayed close to his Gospel and his Church. She always knew that doing what was right, trusting in Heavenly Father and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and serving in her ward and stake callings would bring her more peace, wisdom and joy than giving up. She is the truest example to me that, no matter what, the Lord is our refuge and our fortress.

What greater lesson could a mother teach her daughter?


Karen Romney


Proverbs 21:26
but the righteous giveth and spareth not.

My mom is someone who gives all. As I was thinking about her, I kept thinking of a quote from Marjorie Hinckley that says:

"I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk’s lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

I have been blessed to be allowed to closely observe the life of someone who is ever ready to help and serve others. My mother went to bed after midnight and woke up before 5 am almost ever day. When I picture her in my mind, I see her stationed in our family room sitting on the floor folding a pile of laundry more than 3 feet high. She was the kind of mom who read stories to us on the couch as the seven of us kids compressed upon her from all sides. She worked long sandwich assembly lines as she prepared our lunches every morning. Yet, as busy as she was with 7 little hoodlums running rampant, she made time to help the lady who unexpectedly called her with a random request for help or a sympathetic ear. Today I am thankful for her capacity to give and spare not.

28 comments:

Paige said...

For a second I thought that first picture of your mom was you! Beautiful. And the fantastic hair and dress on Ryan's mom is out of this world.

Linsey said...

This is a nice idea for a tribute. You and Mom look so much alike - both adorable (or whatever adjective you'd rather use if "adorable" makes you feel like a 5-year old, which was not my intention)!

♥Shally said...

Oh my gosh, you both look exactly like your moms...

Nancy said...

I love that dress Ryan's mom is wearing! It's great!

G and G Nut said...

Wow! Thank you, what a sweet surprise!
xoxoxo

mandy* said...

Aunt Karen looks awesome!!!

Abbie said...

Amen to Auntie Dorrie's scripture. She's amazing!!!

And where can I get that maternity dress. Hot Hot Hot

Lauren in GA said...

Such a wonderful tribute to both of your mothers.

I really enjoyed this :)

They are both beautiful inside and out.

Happy Mother's Day, Jessica ♥

jessica said...

What a great idea...I am so copying it next year.

The scripture for Dorrie was absolutely perfect and so beautiful. Yours was great to Ryan...I just don't know your mom, like I know Jessica's.

I love the old photos...what a couple of hotties!

Kristin said...

What a great idea, I cried as I read them.

Jake said...

Loved it loved it loved it! Happy Mother's Day to you and your cute moms!

Annie said...

Fabulous pictures and I loved the scriptures with each of them.

Hopefully my kids wouldn't choose "wickedness never was happiness" "eat, drink and be merry" or "my father dwelt in a tent" as my theme scripture. Something to ponder :)

Tristan said...

I agree with Paige! You look a lot like your Mother! I love both pictures of the Mothers, and the scriptures you chose to go with them!

Bridget said...

First of all, happy mother's day to you!

Second, did you dad or Ryan's dad have any genetic input? Because you both look so much like your moms! I see where you get your great Wonderwoman looks from now.

Christie said...

Your mothers are both beautiful, just like you guys. Very thoughtful tributes. I loved them. Happy Mother's Day to you, friend!

AMY said...

I love doing tributes. I'm glad to see Ryan isn't afraid of blogging.

PS You both look like your moms, although it is kind of crazy to compare Ryan's mom like that.

elizabeth scott said...

Those are perfect tributes to two truely beautiful women! One more verse that comes to mind when I think of both of these amazing mothers! Proverbs 31:10.We have been richly blessed!

brooke romney said...

I love seeing the pictures and reading the tributes. They are both knockouts. You both came from amazing women!

mahina said...

they was such a great idea as a tribute to your mom's!

i have to agree, you both look just like your mom's!

ryan's mom was a gorgeous pregnant woman and i love the hair!!

Celia Fae said...

Are you sure you didn't pull that photo of Ryan's mom off the internet? It is too good to be true.

Leave it to you, Jessica, to accomplish that which we all skirted around. Embodiment of scripture, indeed.

Jenibelle said...

Reading this made me really miss my Mom. It's too bad that when we are teenagers we don't realize these really terrific things about our mothers isn't it? Wonderful, wonderful post. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

great tribute. you guys defintely have a strong gene pool coming from those moms!

Cami said...

Very nice idea. Ryan looks a LOT like his mom from that picture.

Ilene said...

I can't believe Ryan's mom went to all that hair trouble whle she was pregnant.

I was so sad I missed you and your cake that I wallowed in a big ol' mug of frozen hot chocolate.

Hazen5 said...

Love the retro pictures of your moms! They sound like amazing women who taught you both well!

crystal said...

Whoa. Ryan's mom looks exactly like RYAN...only with a beehive-'do. And you are the spitting image of your mother! Weird! Both of them are beautiful. What a sweet tribute.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, you both look just like your mothers. Crazy!

Hope you had a great Mothers Day!

TexasTwinsTwice said...

I just LOVE Retro photos--both your moms are BEAUTIFUL. Very sweet post!