Mother's Day Memory

Alright, here's the deal. A memory that I will never forget.

I bought my mother a book for mother's day, "Leading On Empty" by Wayne Cordeiro. I ordered it from Amazon and had it sent to her. I thought she would really like this book. Unfortunately my timing was bad and the book would not arrive until today, 3 days after mother's day.

I went to my mailbox this afternoon and found a package for me. I opened it and there was the book "Leading On Empty." I was upset, ignorant Amazon had sent the book to me instead of my mother, I thought. So I called mama and told her I had her present here and would have to mail it to her. She said that was fine, and not to worry about the mix up.

As I was getting ready for church I started thinking. I went back and examined the envelop the book had arrived at my house in. It was in my mother's handwriting. So, now I am confused. I start thinking my mother had received the book and had mailed it back to me. So, I have to call her back.

I ask her if she got the book and mailed it to me. Up to this point she did not know it was a book I sent her. She told me that she had not. She told me that she had found a coupon for a book in a magazine while she was at the beauty shop and sent away for it. It was a coupon to get the book for free, by the way. Guess what book it was. You got it, "Leading On Empty" by Wayne Cordeiro. My mother had gotten the book, read it, thought I would like it, mailed it to me. And right now in, in her P.O. Box, is the very same book. They crossed in the mail.

Out of the millions of books I could have chosen for her, out of the millions of books she could have chosen for me, what are the odds we would get the same book? I have never sent my mother a book, never.

I have been amazed by this memory, all day. And I will always have a story to tell.

11 Things Your Mother Would Never Say

1. "How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"

2. "Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too."

3. "Just leave all the lights on ... it makes the house look more cheery."

4. "Let me smell that shirt -- Yeah, it's good for another week."

5. "Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day."

6. "Well, if Ron's mama says it's okay, that's good enough for me."

7. "The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here."

8. "I don't have a tissue with me ... just use your sleeve."

9. "Don't bother wearing a jacket - the wind-chill is bound to improve."

10. "Honey you did not slam the screen door hard enough, put your back into it."

11. "Finish your ice cream, then you can have your vegetables."