Happy Mother's Day!

This is a truly beautiful piece. I received this in an email with no mention of who actually wrote it.

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom,
this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is
even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you'll love this.
Happy Mother's Day

MOTHER

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is
this the long way?' she asked. And the 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 b e tter 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 the young Mother cried,
'Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.'

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was
dark, and the chil dren shook with fear and cold, and the mother
drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said,
'Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come.'

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and
the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was 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, 'Mother, we would not have done it without you.'

And the mother, when she lay down at 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 I gave them courage.
Today, I've given them strength.'

And the next day came strange clouds which 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 beyond the
darkne ss. And that night the Mother said,
'This is the best day of all, for
I have shown my children God.'

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.
But her children were tall and strong, and walked with
courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her,
for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill,
and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, 'I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end
is better than the beginning, for my children can
walk alone, and their children after them.'

And the children said, 'You will always walk with us,
Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.'
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates
closed after her. And they said: 'We cannot see her
but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. S he
is a living presence.......'

Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper
of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach
in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand
on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives
inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from, your first home; and
she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love
and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can
separate you.

Not time, not space... not even death!