May 7, 2011

• Mom, You are making a difference!

  Sometimes I feel like life is so busy.  I wonder, "Am I really making a difference?  Is it really all worth it?"  I want to know that all the sacrifices I'm making are going to have an impact.  But the daily challenges of life are overwhelming. The stuff I have to do day in and day out (laundry, meals) don't really seem extraordinary. 

  One of my favorite stories found in the book Mothers Of Influence, is Pauline Einstein. 

  Pauline Einstein was concerned when her son Albert passed his third birthday and was still not talking.  Her fears increased when he entered school.  He was considered a slow learner.  She watched as he struggled and failed at school.  No one in those days understood Albert's problems - he was extremely intelligent but severely dyslexic.  German schools had strict disciplinary policies.  Albert rebeled, and eventually he was expelled.  He began to teach himself, beginning with religion.  First he avidly studied the Bible.  The he turned to science and math and became totally absorbed in these subjects.  As Pauline observed his struggle, it seemed to her that her son's problem was a lack of focus.  

  She was an accomplished pianist, she understood the discipline needed to learn to play an instrument and thought it might help him concentrate better.  Perhaps if she shared with him her love of music by having him master the violin, he could learn something about being attentive long enough to grasp information.  He was only five years old when she put the instrument in his hand.  He was not interested.  She paid no attention to his protests and forced him to continue.  Many years later, he would thank her.  Playing the violin became one of his favorite ways to relax. 

  Eventually things began to come together for Albert Einstein.  He began to excel in school, he tutored, he became a professor.  He was give a full professorship at the German University in Prague.  Only a year later he was given another position as Professor of Theoretical Physics in Zurich.  Best of all, he was allowed to do all the research he wanted at the university.  Two more years passed, and he became the Director and Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Berlin.  Others had finally recognized his talents and superior intellect. 

  It was his mother, Pauline who had believed in him when others wrote him off.  It was she who had literally forced him to study the violin and helped his dyslexic brain learn to focus.  It was she who had supported his scientific endeavors and believed in him when no one else did.  Einstein said, "there are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle."  Albert Einstein was Pauline's miracle, and she believed in him no matter what others said.  A Mother of Influence believes in her children.

  Raising small children is a task unlike any other I have faced.  It is all hands on deck, 24/7, with very few breaks.  There are few thanks yous.  And yet, it is the most rewarding job on earth.  I'm thankful that God gently leads me during this season of my life.  I pray that he allows me to identify ways to bring out the very best in my children.

  Happy Mother's Day!   

  • 11:24 pm
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