Men are what their mothers made them. Emerson

I have a picture of a little league baseball team that I was on when I was ten. We were the Cougars, so all of us boys had to get our Moms to sew a white letter C on our caps. One of my greatest shames when I was a child was the "C" that was on the front of my cap. My C was not like the professional quality C's that the other boys had. Mine was homemade and just a little bit crooked. I was greatly embarrassed when I was ten - my Mom just must not have cared for me like the other boys' moms, who had gone to the trouble of purchasing commercial quality C's for their boys. Yes I was embarrassed, when I was ten. I was mad, when I was ten. I was stupid, when I was ten.

As the years have gone by I have come to a different perspective on both cap and mother. You see, we did not have a lot of money in those days - just the cost of the sign-up fee was enough to put a strain on an already strained budget, but Mom always seemed to find a way to afford the activities that were so important to her children. A quick look in her closet would have told you exactly how she was able to do so, because my Mom was a lot like your Mom. She made sacrifices that were as innumerable as they were unnoticed. She wore last year's clothes so that we could wear this year's. She did not let us drink or smoke or use bad language or "hang out" with other kids who did. Mom insisted on quality effort in school... She took us to church every time the doors were open.

I now look back on that picture of my baseball team and see something that I did not see when I was ten years-old. I see a boy who was greatly loved by his mother. And, I see on the front of my cap a badge of love... in the form of a "C", that is just a little bit crooked.

I tell you this story to make a point. We look at this mean old world, from time to time, and begin to despair. Everywhere we seem to turn we see misery and heartache. The news is filled with the outrages of the day, with leaders who disappoint, and with people who just seem to hate for no reason at all. But the thing that we need to remember is this: While we may not be able to change the whole world, we can do something about the small corner of the world in which we live. And, as long as we have mothers who are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to raise true servants of God, there is hope.

Honor your father and mother - which is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on earth. 

Ephesians 6:2-3, NIV