On faith: From the Baha’i’s in celebration of mothers’ and fathers’ special day

Dr. Chris Gilbert

guest columnist

My father once told me, “Never be first, never be last, but always be on time.”

So I am a few weeks late for Mother’s Day and a few weeks early for Father’s Day, but it’s the thought that counts. And, if you average the two dates — I am right on time.

First things first — to mothers and fathers everywhere I’ll boldly speak for everyone on this earth, past, present and future in wishing you belated, but heartfelt Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day.

We are all, strongest to weakest, humbly grateful to you. Two short days a year in celebration of your indescribably important roles in our lives seems silly. But we celebrate your love and cherish our time with you — short or long-lived.

You’ve made it so important to see love in our lives because you were the first to share it so selflessly. You nurtured us through self-centered infancy, rebellious youth, and in our becoming selfless parents ourselves. Your eternity of love to us unfolds each moment we pass your love to our young ones and ours to theirs; to our friends and to theirs; to our neighbors and to theirs; to our communities, here and throughout this global village.

Your shadows are tall. They stand as the resolute examples of the best things we can offer one another. You teach us that compassion and mercy must temper the harsher arms of justice. You cool the tempers of a world that often forgets that children are the heart of anything worth fighting for.

We remember sharing things with you we could not dream of sharing with anyone else. That the hugs you gave us were at once strong and gentle. That the real fear worth fearing was getting hurt and being unable to find your comfort.

Your faith in us gave us courage, confidence and our nobility. You helped us overcome our lesser natures in favor of our greater ones. You showed us our free will and taught us that good or bad choices were our responsibility, not the actions of some evil influence. You showed us that not every problem can be solved alone — that it was okay to share our weaknesses in order to grow stronger. You were the one who cried when we couldn’t, loved through our tears and sang to our silence.

When we show patience and love to others, it is your patience and love we show first. When we struggle to mend our hearts, it is the balm of your healing we use first. When we feel spiteful or gossipy we are reminded by your selflessness that holding someone precious despite their shortcomings is the only way we get love. Your example clearly showed us that giving love is the only way to receive it.

You loved us so much, you were willing to give us up to the world and watch us make our mistakes. You watched with love all that the world threw at us. You watched with love at all that changed knowing only one thing could stay the same, your love for us.

Mom, Dad — thank you for sharing everything, always. Thank you for being there when you had everywhere else to be. Thank you for finding us when we were lost, guiding us when we mis-stepped and letting us go when it was our own time. We cannot give to you all that we have taken, except to share our discoveries, our joys and our sorrows. And, when you need selfless love, when it’s your time to be scared of the future, we promise to give back the care and love you let us borrow.

Finally, dear parents, we love you because you taught us how to love. You showed us that everyone, brother and sister alike, are like the two wings of the same bird who cannot fly unless both those wings pull equally. You helped us know that your love is but a minute expression of God’s love, which means there’s a whole lot of love out there for us.

Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad. We love you when we show it and when we don’t. We love you for all you are, all that we expected and all that you surprised us with. We love you yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Peace in family is the only path to world peace. The peace you brought us is a wonderful seed to have planted.

Reach Dr. Chris Gilbert of Baha’i Faith at ckgilbert9@netscape.net, or visit www.bahai.org for more information.