If the gift of life has meaning, it has something to do with a mother's love.

Mothers offer unconditional love. A mother loves her child regardless of the child's foibles and imperfections. It's a form of love that is absolute, and that love is returned in kind. You will never love anyone as much as you love your mother.It's also timeless, and eternal, or so we want to believe. All of that is part of the realm of faith.One thing is certain, a mother always sees her child as her "baby."Mommy's little boy is forever mommy's little boy.Someone once wrote: "even if he happens to be possessed of sons and grandsons and even he himself is one hundred years old, in the eyes of his mother he looks like a child two years of age."There is something about a mother's love that is universal.And that's just one of many reasons why we hold our mothers dear.If a mother is the greatest gift of life, a gift from the Creator, then losing a mother can be the greatest tragedy. It's also can be the greatest heartbreak.If you're lucky enough to still have your mother, you might not realize how blessed you are. Make her the center of your life, not just on Mother's Day, but every day. Understand that life changes forever when your mother departs. Family life can change, too, because mothers hold families together.When you lose your mother, you feel lost. There are no words to accurately describe the feeling.Have you ever heard the haunting song "What'll I do?" by Irving Berlin?It asks: "What'll I do when you are far away, and I am blue, what'll I do? What'll I do with just a photograph to tell my troubles to?"Most think it's a romance song. In reality, Berlin wrote it during a bout of depression after losing his mother. His mother was his single love, and as a struggling artist, he drew strength and inspiration from her.In fact, he loved his mother so much that when he made good money in 1911 from his first big hit - Alexander's Ragtime Band - he bought a house for his mother to live in. She passed away several years later. When that happened, he fell apart. Brokenhearted, he sat at the piano and tapped out a sad melody that became the wailing tune "What'll I do?"Irving Berlin recognized that the love of one's mother can be the sole treasure of life. Losing it is like becoming lost in a forest, something recognized in this message:"There is no shelter like the mother. There is no refuge like the mother. There is no defense like the mother. There is no one so dear as the mother. Whether the mother is able or disabled, lean or robust, the son is always protected by the mother. Then does the son become old, then does he become stricken with grief, then does the world look empty in his eyes, when he becomes deprived of his mother."That message is not from the Holy Bible. It's from Hindu writings. All cultures recognize the special role of mothers. Motherhood is universal that way. A language understood on every continent at all ages of time. Love is powerful, and motherhood is love.It's the foundation of humanity. Greater than all of us together. Yet as personal and special as what you hold inside. And it's as sacred as the spoken word "Mom."You will never love anyone as much as you love your mother. If you still have your mother, cherish her with all your heart.