When you look at me, you would never guess my mom had the green eyes and red hair many associate with the Scottish-Irish people. I resemble my Sicilian father with dark hair and brown eyes. When Mama was happy, her eyes sparkled like green gems flirting with sunlight. I loved to watch those eyes twinkle. And you would never guess behind that sparkle lay pain authored by the disease of alcoholism. Her disease became so severe, she estranged herself from her three daughters for the last ten years of her life. She never met her only grandson, Gabriel, my boy. It would be a lie to say I did not resent her disease and her choices.
After her death, I received a box containing her belongings. Among those was her wedding ring, which was in need of major repair if it was to be worn again. I wasn’t sure it was worth the bother and wondered why God allowed this painful reminder to catch up to me. But for some strange reason, I yearned to repair and wear the ring.
When I took the ring to a local jeweler, he promised to do his best but confessed, “Frankly, it is probably too broken to be restored.” I agreed to leave it and accepted the fact that because it was his busiest time of the year, he could not get to it for several weeks.
The next month, he called and said the ring was repaired and ready to collect. I arrived at his shop and found him admiring my ring. He called me over to inspect it. I couldn’t believe the difference. The gold shimmered and the stone, complete with new tines, sparkled as it flirted with the sunlight coming from a nearby window.
I knew now why the yearning and why God wanted me to have and wear this ring. I had a choice to make. I could choose to hold onto the image of my mother as a tarnished, weak and broken woman who abandoned her girls to alcohol. Or I could remember her sparkle, shine and those amazing eyes. I was reminded that, as humans, we are all broken and yet Jesus sees through that brokenness and counts us as flawless gems. He tells us that only through forgiveness are we healed and free.
The jeweler spoke very softly as he asked, “It is quite a beauty, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Yes, she was,” I replied, placing the ring on my finger for the first time and making my choice.
“I’m sorry it took so long to get it to you,” he apologized
“That’s okay. You see, today, March 9th, would have been my mother’s 83rd birthday,” I said. We stood in silence for a moment, then I whispered, “Thank you Mama. Happy birthday. Please forgive me. I forgive you, and I love and miss you.”
I wear this ring daily to honor my mother and remember her happy, sparkling, green eyes. It is a reminder to thank God for His grace to us and for his gentle teachings of how to extend grace to others. My will stipulates this ring will belong to my granddaughter, Sophia, when I transition from this world to my eternal home. It is my prayer that she will choose to focus on the gleam, sparkle and shine in herself and others. And I pray she will never believe that she or others are too broken to be restored.
Copyright July 2012
llpadgett
Lakewood, CO 80401
Connect with me, Laura Padgett, on Twitter @lauraleepadgett or my Facebook Author Page
Check out the books I have published
“Dolores, Like the River,” available at Westbow Press, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and all major online retailers. If you live in the U.S. and would like an autographed copy sent directly to you, click on the tab for buying books on my home page
The award-winning “Jesus in Shorts: Twenty-five Shorts Stories of Life-Changing Jesus Moments,” available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you live in the U.S. and would like an autographed copy sent directly to you, click on the tab for buying books on my home page. I will ship it to you after your purchase.
Laura,
You are indeed a “Gem”” cut from the same diamond that your mother was formed from. You were able to grow stonger from the fire than she did. Which is probably what she would have desired for you the most! You have indeed made your Mother happy!! Don’t you think?
Love Pam
Thank you Pam. When God puts an idea in my heart to write or dance about, it stays until the piece is finished. I believe it is authored by Him to show the power of love and forgiveness in our world of wounds. Hope all is well with you. bless you dear one.
Beautiful story with a beautiful message
Thanks Beverley. Glad you liked it.
Wow! Impressive story, impressive writing! I now will have to pay closer attention to your hands to see the beautiful ring. You also have the sparkle in your eye and your talent shines through in your writing. Love you sister!
Thank you so much Lisa. I am very excited about this piece and I honestly believe it is one of the best things I have ever written. Thanks for your encouragement.
Beautiful story. My father passed away when I was young and his ring was lost sometime during that final hospital stay. While painful if it magically appeared, it would be overall joyful.
Thanks for sharing.
Reblogged this on Livin' what you're given and commented:
In honor of my mother, in honor of all those mothers out there. Sometimes we blow it. Sometimes we wish we had been better parents and sometimes we long to go back and find relationship with those parents we have lost. Today, as I look out at the rain and feel the old pangs of the past telling reminding me of the painful stuff about the relationship between my mother and I, I look to God to remember the day He brought reconciliation, forgiveness and an end to the suffering around my relationship with Mama. May your Mother’s Day 2014 be blessed as a mother and as a child. Luv ya.
Beautiful tribute to healing and restoration!
Thank you so much for reading this. I am honored to be able to share this story and God’s grace in offering us the keys to freedom through the lens of compassion and forgiveness. Blessings on you my friend.