The
young Mother
set her foot on the path
of life. "Is the way
long?" she asked.
And her Guide said:
"Yes, and the way is
hard. And you will be old
before you reach the end
of it. But the end will
be better than the
beginning."
But the young Mother was
happy, and she would not
believe that anything
could be better than
these years. So she
played with her children,
and gathered flowers for
them along the way, and
bathed them in the clear
streams. And the sun
shone on them, and life
was good, and the young
Mother cried,
"Nothing will ever
be lovelier than
this."
Then night came, and a
storm came, and the path
was dark. The children
shook with fear and cold,
and the Mother drew them
close, covering them with
her mantle, and the
children said, "Oh,
Mother, we are not
afraid, for you are near
and no harm can
come," and the
Mother said, "This
is better than the
brightness of day, for I
have taught my children
courage."
The morning came. There
was a hill ahead, and the
children climbed and grew
weary, but at all times
she said to the children,
"A little patience,
and we are there."
So the children climbed
and when they reached the
top they said, "We
could not have done it
without you,
Mother." And the
Mother, when she lay down
that night, looked up at
the stars, and said:
"This is a better
day than the last, for my
children have learned
fortitude in the face of
hardness. Yesterday, they
had courage. Today, they
have strength."
The next day, came
strange clouds that
darkened the earth -
clouds of war and hate
and evil, and the
children groped and
stumbled, and the Mother
said: "Look up. Lift
your eyes to the
Light." And the
children looked and saw
above the clouds an
everlasting glory, and it
guided them and brought
them beyond the darkness.
And that night the Mother
said, "This is the
best day of all, for I
have shown my children
God."
The days went on, and the
weeks and the months and
the years, and the Mother
grew old, and she was
feeble and bent. But her
children were tall and
strong, and walked with
courage. And when the way
was hard, they helped
their Mother; and when
the way was rough, they
lifted her; and at last
they came to a hill and
beyond the hill they
could see a shining road
and golden gates flung
wide.
The Mother said: "I
have reached the end of
my journey. And now I
know that the end is
better than the
beginning, for my
children can walk alone,
and their children after
them."
The children said,
"You will always
walk with us, Mother,
even when you have gone
through the gates."
They stood and watched
her as she went on alone,
and the gates closed
after her. They said,
"We cannot see her,
but she is with us still.
Our Mother is more than a
memory. She is a living
presence."
~Temple
Bailey~