How thankful we are for the pleasant hours granted you with your mother this day. Three hours, well ordered, with right choices of action and company, and no squandering of moments, this is a mercy straight from the Father’s hand, and you do well to record it. Yet you speak of tomorrow and of a journey, pleading for half an hour with her. Beware of presuming on tomorrow! “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” The thought that there is time to spare is a whisper from the Deceiver; he would have you build airy hopes while the solid present slips away. Now, while it is called today, love your mother with an unhurried, deliberate love. She may have watered your soul with prayers for many a year; if you delay, you risk robbing her of the harvest she has long awaited. Let not the chaff of passing pleasures and busy cares cause you to neglect the precious wheat of her company and her heart.
Yet there is a time to love, and the God who holds all hours in His hand can certainly carve out a sacred half-hour for you at evening time, and it shall be light. He is never before His time, never too late. I will pray that He orders your schedule so that you may have that blessing. But I charge you: do not substitute a distant hope for this present duty. Even tonight, look upon her with affection, speak words that will endure, and thank the Lord for today’s good gift. Should it please Him to give you a second opportunity tomorrow, receive it as grace upon grace; if not, you will have no regrets. May the Father of lights make your path straight, and may you find that the time yielded to a mother’s love is never wasted but returns a hundredfold in comfort and in peace.