My Mother read the following story in front of the congregation of my church and then sent it to me. It brings great joy to me and I figured I should share with as many people as I can. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful holiday.

Woman, behold thy son......when offered a choice of the seven last words of Jesus to talk about, after a polite pause, I asked for this quote. These words speak to me by way of my middle son. When I first beheld him with my husband our choice of names became immediately clear--he'd be called Gabriel because he truely looked like an angel.

Next came the hard part of beholding; Gabe was born with both feet severely deformed. Within hours he was in two tiny full leg casts which would be removed and reapplied many times in the weeks ahead. This was hard to see because the casting was doing no good. After many consultations we decided to have him operated on at three months and again at six months. By the age of two, he was a sight to behold--able to do whatever any toddler could do.

Fast forward fifteen years--Gabe was driving home on a rainy Friday afternoon, tired from a long day of football practice, followed by his camp counselor job and fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into an unforgiving tree. After he was extricated from the wreck and rushed to Norwood Hospital the attempt began to locate us. It happened we were visiting friends in Pittsburg and were just about to sit down as guests of honor at a dinner party when a call came for us. Puzzled, Joe took the call and I knew at once that it was something awful. A very compassionate nurse explained gently what had happened and that we needed to give the doctor permission to do whatever was needed for Gabe. The extent of his injuries had not yet been determined but he was in critical condition. Joe told me later that he could hear Gabe screaming for us. After a vain attempt to grab a couple of hours of sleep we set out for a marathon drive back home.

Arriving at the hospital, we were directed to the ICU where we had a difficult time even recognizing him. His head was so swollen and his face swathed in bandages. He was in casts and we weren't even sure he recognized us. Our "beholding of the son" this time was one of the most painful moments Joe and I ever had. (pause) He had a remarkable recovery and resumed playing the sports he loved. Now at thirty one, we sometimes talk with each other about those weeks. The tree, with its scarred trunk, remains a constant reminder, but our tale ended well.

I think if I had been called as Mary was when Jesus said "Woman, behold thy son" and I had walked the road to Calvary as she had done I would have found it agony to go on. But I guess that was why God selected her for the daunting task. The rest of the quote is addressed to John, standing with Mary at the foot of the cross. Jesus says "Son, behold thy Mother." I hope the apostle beheld Mary and even held her. What a generous and glorious gift fom Jesus, the gift of His Mother for us all!