The Prodigal Son

I have to take a commercial break from my typical blog postings to talk about Father Phil's homily at church this afternoon. The gospel reading was the ever-famous "Prodigal Son." For those of you who don't know the story, here it is in summation: Wealthy father has 2 sons and gives them both a sum of money. Son #1 takes money and wastes it away far from home. Son #2 keeps money, stays at home, and supports dad's company in every way possible--the ever-faithful son. Son #1 realizes he made a mistake with the money and comes home to admit his sins to his father. Before the son can apologize, the dad is just so happy to see his son, he calls for a feast and celebration in the community. Son #2 is upset because his father hadn't ever thrown him a party and he was there day-in and day-out supporting the father. Dad tells Son #2 that it isn't about the party, it is about celebrating the fact that Son #1 was lost and now is found.

As I listened to Father's homily, I felt a real connection with the story (as I do every time I hear it!). He spoke about how so many people focus on the father and his ability to accept his son back home. Although this is obviously a very important aspect of the story, another part that we shouldn't ignore is the idea of "community." The father threw his son a party in order to bring the community together and publicly share in the son's ability to find God and listen to him. Listening to father, I now see the story differently than before. As a mother, I tried to put myself in the dad's place. I would hate to see Gabrielle leave home and make lots of mistakes. At the same time, I hope that I will instill in her my unending love to the point where she knows I will always forgive her. She will make mistakes--lots and lots of mistakes. Despite her flaws, she is my daughter and I her mother. I cannot imagine my life without her and really, no parent should have to live without his/her child. I realize that things happen, people makes mistakes, people say things they shouldn't, and relationships are tested. These things should never get in the way of a loving parent/child relationship.

My daughter is still in a state of babyish innocence. Anything she does wrong doesn't really "count" at this point because she is too young to realize her mistakes. Someday soon this will all change. The Prodigal Son will always be there to remind me how to accept my daughter for all that she is and all that she will be. She is part of a community of family and we are here to support her and her passions. No matter what, I will always be here to pick her up when she falls down and be her biggest cheerleader. After all, I AM her mom and that's what moms do, right?