Half a dozen Saudi students came to my Conversation Group. It was the week
before Mother's Day. So, the question came up "How will you honor your
mother?" One of the men piped up and said "Every day is Mother's Day
for us!" "So what do you miss about your mom?" I asked. They expressed various things
like delicious meals and other practical things moms typically do for their
kids. One of them said "I love to spend time with my mom in the kitchen as
she cooks. I'm going to buy her a diamond ring when I return home."
Joy writes about typical sentiments
Muslim men have about their moms on her last week's blog post titled "Giving Cards for Mother's Day"
“Abdul brought out a tattered
notebook and started reading some flowery poems he had composed about his
mother. I didn’t hear any poems about his wife; just his mother whom he
obviously felt close to. There was no embarrassment as he read his poems to us
in his language. I wondered if his beautiful wife hearing the poems wished he
would compose some endearing poem about her.
Eastern mothers are unbelievably
sacrificial in their love for their children; especially their sons. I've heard
many glowing remarks about mothers from Muslim men and women. Islam and the
culture esteem motherhood…Mother’s Day is an excellent time to speak into their lives and
also to share how God’s heart is like a mother’s, full of unconditional love
and tenderness. Verses like Isaiah 49:15 reveal that truth. Such sharing often
sounds unfamiliar but attractive to them. It is a time, also, when Muslims and
Christians experience a common bond. We each have had a mother and many of us
have become mothers. Even if someone has not married or is unable to have
children we can be like a mother in a nurturing sense with someone else.”
With our independent lifestyles, western men can learn from the commitment between a Muslim young man and his mother. We can affirm this quality in our Muslim friend's life. I have a Canadian friend who excelled in how he cared for his ageing mother right until the day she passed away.
Muslim men can benefit from our demonstration of what a loving Christian marriage looks like. While away from the home we show fidelity that comes with love, respect and commitment to our wife. When in the home, we can demonstrate sharing the load of taking care of the house and the family. We are in it together. Probably what speaks loudest is when I serve my wife when we extend hospitality to a Muslim family. That's the least I can do with my limited cooking skills!!
Theodore Roosevelt is reported to have said "Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care."
Dear Heavenly Father, we marvel at your unconditional love for us. Please allow us to demonstrate our love and commitment to those closest to us and also extend it to others that you have put us together with. Amen.
With our independent lifestyles, western men can learn from the commitment between a Muslim young man and his mother. We can affirm this quality in our Muslim friend's life. I have a Canadian friend who excelled in how he cared for his ageing mother right until the day she passed away.
Muslim men can benefit from our demonstration of what a loving Christian marriage looks like. While away from the home we show fidelity that comes with love, respect and commitment to our wife. When in the home, we can demonstrate sharing the load of taking care of the house and the family. We are in it together. Probably what speaks loudest is when I serve my wife when we extend hospitality to a Muslim family. That's the least I can do with my limited cooking skills!!
Theodore Roosevelt is reported to have said "Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care."
Dear Heavenly Father, we marvel at your unconditional love for us. Please allow us to demonstrate our love and commitment to those closest to us and also extend it to others that you have put us together with. Amen.
