To My Dear Mother-in-Law, Ingrid

My mother-in-law, but oh, t’was you

Who taught him to be kind and true,

Somehow I never shall forget

How very much I owe

To you, who taught him how to grow

You trained your son to look above

You made him, the man I love

And so I think of that today….and many other days!

Right: A picture of my mother-in-law dancing with me at my wedding!

My husband and I “named” a verse as “ours” when we first got married in Germany. It’s my favourite verse in the bible: Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Ruth 1:16-17

A couple of years ago, I bought a book, The Mother-in-Law Dance by Annie Chapman. I thought it might give me further insight to strengthening, even more, my own in-law realionship. I love the biblical references and examples of Ruth (daughter-in-law) and Naomi (mother-in-law). This mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, opened their hearts to one another, even with their extreme differences which makes it all the more impressive their decision to love one another.

Especially now as a mother for a son, I can somewhat imagine how hard it was for my mother-in-law to deal with us moving to the States from Germany. Here is a sweet poem from the book, that makes me cry thinking of my own son leaving someday.   

Dance with the One

 Before you go dancing out of our lives

 Son, there’s a dance you must do

 With the prettiest girl at your party tonight

 She’s looking this way at you

 Go on over to her, and ask her in style

 And I’ll clear a place on the floor

 Just like you did, when you were a child

 Dance with your mother once more

 Dance with the one who bought you here

 Who loved you the most, through all of these years

 Hold her hand gently and remember the tears

 Before you tell her goodbye

 Dance one more time

 With the one who bought you here

I love reading other blogs for inspiration. Sometimes, it will be post after post, sometimes just a certain category and others just a sentence. That’s what happened today over at Michelle Derusha’s blog. In her post, her first sentence was “The day I knew I would have to say goodbye to my mother-in-law was one of the hardest, most terrifying moments I’ve ever faced.” “ That is all I needed to find my daily inspiration for writing. For me, it was a moment for me to give thanks to God for my mother-in-law. You see, I’m married to a really wonderful man and I can see the hand of my mother-in-law in him so I have a lot to thank her for. Beyond even that, she is a very kind, thoughtful and open woman. Yesterday, she told me that she is reading my blog nearly everyday. She knows this blog means a lot to me so that meant a lot!

Today I was visiting the Time-Warp Wife and reading her post on how to become one with your spouse for today’s titus2 link-up. When, speaking of Ruth, I noticed that the Time-Warp Wife does a bible study on Ruth.  It’s funny, the older I get, the more I can relate with certain stories and people in the bible. I also love to read how the messages are reaching other women and moms. Through their messages, I can have an even greater understanding of how God’s word is working in others. Time-Warp Wife is wonderful with her words.