A mother’s love is more than just priceless.

I’m talking about none other than a mother’s love. Have you ever realised how willing our mothers are to sacrifice even their lives for our sake? I have witnessed myself how many mothers died just to save their children and protect them from harm. To me, nobody is greater than my own mother. Looking back in my previous years, it makes me feel rather ungrateful at the moments when I forsook her due to certain conflicts that had arisen before.

All over these years, we could have been very much numb towards how much our mothers really love us. We could have been very much unaware about how much our mothers miss us while we are away. We could also have been very much oblivious about how much our mothers long for our presence when they are dealing with some hard times.

Now I know. Ever since I came into university, I realised how attached I am to my mother. I have come to know how much my mother means to me. It has come to a point where I foresaw that I could not continue living without my mother. You may not believe this, but I am indeed shedding tears while writing this. I am indeed very gratified and blessed to have a mother.

It breaks my heart especially to see children lose their mothers especially when their mothers sacrificed their lives to ensure the survival of their children. I have witnessed an incident when a mother fell from a multi-storey building (due to an earthquake) with her child. She died from the fall, but her child survived because its fall was cushioned by her dead mother. It has changed my perspective that when people ask me if there is anyone who is willing to die for you, I would say, "Yes, my mother is willing to sacrifice herself if I’m in any form of jeopardy.”

I watched the movie, “The Passion of Christ” and there were two scenes that struck me real hard about how wonderful a mother’s love can be. I intended to cut out the two scenes and post them here, but as the wireless connection is down, I shall do it some other time. One particular scene was when Mary the mother of Jesus saw Jesus fell onto the floor while carrying His cross. This made Mary recalled the moments when Jesus fell down during His toddler days. Instinctively, she abandoned her work immediately and ran to Him. Upon reaching Him, she said “I’m here.”

Now, seeing that Jesus fell down with the cross on top of Him, her instincts drove her to run, with her hands stretched out towards Jesus. She forced herself through the crowd, knelt down next to Jesus, and with her hands on His face, delivered the same cradling touch, crying “I’m here.”

Another scene is when Jesus was already crucified. Mary when towards Him, kissed His blood-soaked legs, stepped back and said, “Flesh of my flesh, heart of my heart. My son, let me die with you!” Such was her love for Him that she was so attached to Him. It broke her heart very much to see her own son, innocent and blameless, to be crucified, but she felt so powerless and helpless. She felt so bad of not being able to protect Him that she even pleaded to die with Him. She must have wanted to share the pain He was experiencing.

A mother’s love is more than just priceless. It is the most valuable gift that anybody can get. Love melts the heart, but a mother’s love melts not only the heart, it melts the soul.

Unfortunately, we as children often overlook the sacrifices that our mothers have done for us. Is there anyone reading this who dare to proclaim in public that they have neither forsaken nor disobeyed their mothers? As the saying goes, “If there is anyone who is not with sin, let him cast the first stone.”

Do you know how much your mother loves you? You will know how much your mother loves you when you see your mother trying in vain to hide away when she is crying, whether it is due to happiness, sadness, frustration and so on.

My mother (let me just say this as an example. No bragging intended) is indeed a strong woman with a strong will in anything she does. Throughout my life, I have only seen her crying twice. I saw her crying when I was five years old, but I was too young to understand anything, therefore I didn’t shed tears. Last year, I saw her crying again because my parents had a bad argument. Her tears kept flowing and as I stayed with her, my tears started to well up, too. At that moment I had to go out to buy a bus ticket, and as I was driving, I broke down all the way to the station.

A mother’s love is so powerful that as you witness her downfall, you can’t bear to let your mother just fall like that. When a man and a woman fall in love with one another, it is a two-way love. But a mother’s love can either be a one-way or two-way love. No matter whether you remember or forsake her, her love for you is never dying. Do you see the greatness of a mother’s love? Do you see how great a mother is? Do you see why there is also a Malay saying that, “Syurga itu terletak di telapak kaki ibu” (translated meaning “Heaven is located at a mother’s feet”)?

Indeed, I salute all mothers in this world. And I shall salute to all mothers-to-be. You are the greatest gift anyone can have. You are indeed the best gift God can give.