Mother's Day

Mother's Day in Mexico is always May 10th, which is obviously different from the United States. This year for Mother's Day the Zaragozas are on their annual family EMMC. The entire family has joined the usual EMMC crew for a 9 day trip to Guadalajara. They left Sunday morning on their adventure. I am looking forward to seeing pictures. Some of the kids are doing ministry through clowning. I got to see them practice a skit they are doing. I was very impressed. I am sure Julie will write more about the trip when they return.

I wanted to tell you about an idea Lucy and I had for Jocelin. This was her first Mother's Day since Pati, her mom, died. Because we knew the family was going to be gone on Mother's Day, we wanted to do something with Jocelin. Pati's grave is in the cemetery in Cuecue very close to home, but Jocelin does not get to go there very often. On Friday as the family was working on the weekly cleaning chores so they would be able to pack for their trip on Saturday, Lucy and I took Jocelin to pick out flowers and go to the cemetery. When I went in to the house looking for her, Julie was doing her hair. When she saw me, I could tell Julie had shared our plan with her. Her eyes lit up and her smile widened. She was ready to go as soon as her hair was done.

We headed off to find some flowers. I was thinking of a bouquet to go in a vase. We were out a little early for most of the flower vendors and ended up at a plant shop. Jocelin told the shop keeper what she wanted flowers for, and she showed us a variety of plants. Originally Jocelin said she wanted white flowers. As we looked at the choices, there was one lonely cone-shaped yellow flower. It reminded me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, but it was the one Joce wanted.

From there, we headed to the cemetery. This was the first time she had been there since Cirino had tiled it. The grave sites are different than most in the States. They are very close together. Many of them look like they are fresh, because the dirt is kept in a mound. Others are fully covered with cement work or tile. Pati's is covered in three tiers of white tile and marked with a simple cross with her name and the day she died. Jocelin knew right where to go, even though it looked different this time. We talked about things she liked to do with her mother, things that she misses. She put the plant at the head of the tiled grave. I thought to myself, "We are going to have to water this plant that is half a mile from home." Sometimes I can be pretty selfish.

As we were getting ready to leave, Cirino and his friend Don Juan showed up. They wanted to know how Joce liked the tile. He suggested we take the plant back to the house. I knew we at least needed a better pot, since we could not plant it there. When we got back to the house and talked to Julie, we decided to plant it in the fenced area next to the house. It will be a nice Mother's day plant there at home.

I know Lucy and I enjoyed this time with Joce, and I am pretty sure she did too. In our everyday interaction, she loves to help or be involved in what we are doing. It was really good to have some one-on-one time with her doing something she wanted to do. My prayer for Joce is that she understands that God is in control and that He has an important plan for her life.Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.--Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Luke 12: 22, 27