The "Sturdy Girl"

When my mom and dad were engaged, way back in the 50's, my Grandma Grace, (my dad's mom) the soon-to-be mother-in-law, told my dad how pleased she was with his choice in a mate, citing one of the reasons as "Jean is such a sturdy girl." In her mind, this was a huge compliment, for she spent much of her adult life sickly and frail. But for my mom, at age 19, with a slender 5' 6'' inches and 118 pound frame, it didn't feel like quite the compliment it was intended to be. (I think for her it conjured up images of her corralling cattle out on some ranch in Montana.)


Well, I grew up living with with my mom. And I know what Grandma Grace was talking about. My mom is a sturdy girl. She is capable and strong and resilient and gives you the feeling that she can take on the world. And she is still a sturdy girl at age 71.

Sunday afternoon, Alan Erica and I went over to Mom and Dad's to pick up some furniture they were letting us borrow--a bed frame, heavy maple headboard, mattresses, a maple desk. Mom insisted on helping us haul the furniture out to the truck. The three of us came so she wouldn't have to help, but I should have known better. It's in her nature to just pick up the stuff and start moving it out, without a second thought. Never mind that she is undergoing radiation after breast cancer surgery. Never mind that she's supposed to be extra tired and supposed to take it easy. Never mind that at all.

Today was her last day of radiation. I met her and my dad at Ruby's for breakfast to celebrate the end of this long, 7-week ordeal. While we looked at the menus, I asked her what she was planning to order. She answered with a zesty, "Christmas is over, radiation is over, and today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I'm not going to live it as fat as I am right now, so I'm ordering the skinny eggs!"

My mom, sturdy of spirit, of body, of heart. I do not love her because she is strong. But I can't help but admire her for it. And when her strength fails, as it surely will some day, it will be the sturdiness of her faith--her unflinching trust in the faithfulness of God--that spurs me on.