Mom Was a Prodigal

I think I got your attention.

What do you mean, Mom was a Prodigal?

Okay, I get to define the terms.  You see, there is more than one definition for "prodigal".  The one we commonly think of is "wastefully or recklessly extravagant".  That's the description of the younger son in chapter 15 of St. Luke's Gospel.  He's the one who demands that his father give him his inheritance immediately, something he was supposed to get at his father's death.  Surprisingly, the father gives him what he wants and then, as Paul Harvey used to say, there is "the rest of the story".  What does this son do?  He spends all that he has in a wasteful and recklessly extravagant manner.  He fits that definition.

But I'm choosing -- I'm defining the terms, remember -- the other two definitions that you'll likely find in any dictionary.  One of them is "giving or yielding profusely, extravagant".  The third definition is "lavishly abundant, profuse".

Kinda changes things, doesn't it?  It doesn't take much to be a prodigal like the first definition.  To be wasteful and reckless doesn't take great skill.  So is it ever proper to call somebody a Prodigal and mean it as a compliment?  Yes.

So again I say, Mom was a Prodigal.   Mom was "lavish" with her love.  I won't try to guess the countless times she encouraged me, sympathized with me, hugged me, listened intently to the silly things I said.  I thought I was pretty smart, because my mom treated me that way.

Mom was "giving" with her words of wisdom.  When I said my legs hurt, she told me it was "growing pains".  When I was hungry an hour before dinnertime, I learned that I had "a nervous stomach".  When we watched an intense detective show on television,  amazingly, she could always figure out how it was going end.

She was profuse with her knowledge.  I know the term "Renaissance Man" is often used.  Well, if there is such a thing -- and there should be -- Mom was a "Renaissance Woman".  Mom seemed to know more than most people about politics, the arts, sports, ethics, style.  I was always amazed.  Well, until I got to the age where I thought I could compete with her.  But there was never a question or topic that arose that Mom did not have enough understanding to make an intelligent comment.

Okay, does the parable from Luke 15 describe a Prodigal in a positive light?  Indeed it does.  You see, the father in this story was a Prodigal.  When the younger son returned home, determined to become "a hired servant" in order to show his father how sorry he was, the father sees him from a distance.  In an undignified manner, he runs to meet his son, lavishly embracing and kissing him.  When the son reveals his plan to "pay Dad back", the father will have none of it.  He calls for his best robe, a ring for his son's finger, and a fatted calf for a celebration.  These are the actions of a Prodigal Father, receiving his lost son and celebrating as though the son had accomplished something worthy of honor.  The Father in the parable is a wonderful picture of the Father in heaven who lavishly pours out grace upon those who have rebelled and behaved like the younger son.

When I came into the world as a son to Mom and Dad, I had nothing to offer them.  Yet I was treated like royalty -- fed, clothed, changed, bathed – even given a "high chair"!  The wonderful thing about having parents who love you is realizing that they love you while expecting nothing in return.

Can I put into the words what it meant to have a Prodigal Mother?  I won't even make an attempt. Sometimes I think only two words are useful.  Thank You.  Mom, thank you for the abundance of love that you showered upon me.  Thank you for being a Prodigal Mother.

I must make one more change.  I said at the beginning, "Mom was a Prodigal".  The "Rest of the Story" for my life is this: she still is.  I continue to enjoy the wonderful blessing of having a mother who treats me with prodigal love simply because she wants to, not because of any great thing I have done for her.  I'm truly a blessed man.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Don