My Mamma Birds

After thinking about those I get to be a Mamma Bird to ... I got to thinking about those who have been a Mamma Bird to me.  I guess no matter how long we live on planet earth it just flat out feels good when another loves on us.

Early in my adulthood years, while still in college, an older woman scooped me up under her wings.  It wasn't anything formal but rather a "come alongside me"  attitude she freely bestowed upon me.  We taught a class together.  I learned from her the ease in which to impart great truths to others ... having the passion she spoke about be real and authentic deep in her innermost parts.  She occationally took me to a movie, she listened when I had a crisis, she modeled real life in the form of a real woman.  She was one of my first teachers.  Her name:  Ramona Romines.

Not long after that time, another older woman befriended me.  She showed me the art of being a partner, a best friend, a cheerleader and support for a husband.  She was herself.  She fit no mold.  She was honest.  She treated me as an equal.  She cared for the things in my life that I cared about.  She was objective.  She watched me fall in love with my Chris ... and supported me in unknown ways during our courtship. She talked about sex ... the first woman who ever broached the subject in non-hushed tones.  She gave me permission to be ... me.  Her name:  Freddi Booth.

Many years later in a foreign land called Tucson, Arizona, Rachel Hartman bumped into my life.  What seemed like a random association was a divine appointment from a loving God.  She, older and wiser, was the most authentic follower of Jesus I had possibly ever met.  She wasn't critical of others.  She didn't candy coat things.  She was honest.  She cared more for the reputation of God, His church and his followers than feeling good.  She didn't freak out when I started experiencing anxiety.  She showed me how crazy God was about me.  Watching her, then in her 70's, respond to God as if He were her "Daddy" taught me more about who God was than any seminary class I ever attended.

These are some of the women God has used to Mother me ... to be my Mamma Birds ... and to whom I am ever grateful.  Girls ... wherever you are ... thank you!