Prayer for My MotherDear 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

为母亲祈祷亲爱的上帝： 由于我已不再年轻，我的一些朋友的母亲已经过世了。我听到这些子女说他们从未充分珍惜过母爱，而待他们意识到这一点时为时已晚。 有幸我母亲还健在，我对她的感激之情与日剧增。母亲未变但我变了。随着年龄的增长，心智逐渐成熟，我才意识到母亲的伟大。我感到悲哀，这些话在她面前我就说不出来，但却可以轻松地出现在我的笔下。 一个女儿应如何感谢她的母亲给予了她生命?如何回报母亲在养育孩子时所付出的爱、耐心和辛勤的劳作?还有她跟在蹒跚学步的孩子后面跑或她对情绪多变的青少年的理解及对饱读诗书的大学生的容忍，以及她耐心的等候，直到女儿意识到她的伟大之处的那一天的到来? 一位成年女性应如何感谢母亲仍继续扮演她的角色?是因为在女儿向她请教时能随时给予建议或在建议得到女儿的感激时她会保持沉默；还是因为她不说“这事我告诉过你”，而本来她能多次重复这句话的；或者是因为她就是一个自爱、考虑周到而又有耐心和宽容之人? 上帝啊，除了请求您保佑她尽可能得到她应得到的并帮我向她树立的榜样看齐外，我不知道再求您做什么啦。我祈祷我在子女的眼中能像母亲在我眼中一样美好。——一个女儿