Mum's Worth

Declan Hainey didn’t deserve to die in poverty and squalor, not even having reached his second birthday. It wasn’t his fault he lost out on love, and his tiny, scrawny, emaciated body wasn’t found in time to save him. Not his fault that he had been left in his own waste, among cider bottles and the trappings of a drug crazed mother. Not his fault for being here in the first place. Unwanted at birth and unnoticed at death, hidden away in his personal prison for months to stop the abuse being seen and reported by anyone who might have got into the house where he spent his whole life, and ultimate death, not ever knowing what love was. The love of a mother. That’s all it would have taken for the story to be have been so different. Only another ‘dead’ person could fail to be moved by the story of this tragic and short life of this little boy. I would not be the only person who shed a tear when the story of Declan Hainey was finally told.

Mums, if you are reading this, don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking your contribution to your children’s lives is without worth, or that nobody notices or cares. Our society has sold us on the notion that motherhood is something less than it is. You are strange unless you are a ‘working mother’ and being productive, as if raising children is not a valuable activity and calling, in its own right. I would suggest that there is no higher calling on this earth, than the unfailing love of a Mum for her child, or children. It surpasses all other forms of love, and I believe is closest to the heart of God.

Who kisses the hurt away, whether a skint knee, or a wounded heart (at any age)? Who makes sure her children are taught right from wrong, and sets the example? Who brings the family to church faithfully and regularly, and without fanfare? (Yes it is noticed!) Who is best placed to recognise the pain and hurt of another child? Who goes without, in order that her own can have, whether it is clothing, or even food? Who loves enough to scold with a hug and through tears? At whose knees do many children learn to pray, and form a trust in a loving God? There is no substitute for a Godly Mum. Not a mother, because any woman can be a mother, but it takes a special heart to be a ‘Mum’, and some Mums have had a particularly difficult home life of their own.

So, for me, where do I find the greatest earthly example of the love of God? In a word, it’s ‘Mum’. Thankfully, very few are like Declan’s ‘carer’ (that was how the court described her, neither mother, nor mum) and thankfully, these are not the norm for motherhood, but it serves to remind us of the greater value of a loving and Godly Mum, whose worth only increases with time, and even to adulthood and beyond. Let’s be ever thankful to God for our Mums. In honour of my own Godly Mum, and Mum to my Godly children. A Godly Mum’s legacy never dies.

Carers

In the past few days, TV screens in the UK have shown footage of secret filming by the BBC of abuses in a Care Home for the physically and mentally challenged who only know this place as their 'home'. The subject is 'carers' but the perpetrators of the abuses shown cannot take that title. Carers earn their name, by the way they look after their charges, and the name is worthy to be given to many in the eyes of the wider family who trust their children and siblings and parents into their care.

I have some knowledge of local Care Homes. Both my elderly parents benefited from loving care given by paid staff. I have good and caring family who have been, and are still involved in the care of the less fortunate in later years. They would rightly be horrified at all and any abuse meted out to unsuspecting residents by so called 'care staff'. Thankfully, this kind of abuse, by these kinds of people, are few and far between, but that does mean we have an excuse to do nothing to make sure it cannot happen again.

Our culture and laws are based on Christian values, so we have a responsibility to the vulnerable in our society. Not necessarily to do the excellent work of 'hands on caring', but to watch where abuse happens, and stand up against it. Jesus described us as 'the salt of the earth' and warned us against losing our savour. Yes, we like the “God is Love” approach, but we should also be in fear of the same God who judges our actions, and inactions. Unless the ones guilty of this reported abuse repent (now there's an old word!), they will suffer a terrible punishment. I can still hear the words of a special and true carer saying, “If we don't speak up for them, who will”? Good question!

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matt 25:40,46 (KJV)