A young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked.



Her Guide smiled and said, "Yes. And the way is long, 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. She bathed them in clear streams. The sun shone on them, and life was good. The young mother said, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then night came, and a storm, and the path became dark. Her children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her wings. 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 the sun, for I have taught my children courage."

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 soon there." So the children climbed, and they climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "We could not have done it without you Mother."

And the mother looked up at the stars when she lay down that night and said, "This is better than the last day, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of a storm. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I have given them strength."

The next day there came strange clouds which darkened the earth: war, hate, evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said, "Look up, lift your eyes to the Light." The children saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness.

That night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God.



My precious grown children, Shannon & Amanda

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. When the way was hard, they helped their mother; and when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather. At last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a winding road and golden gates flung wide.

And 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."

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. 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. She is a living presence. "

~ Temple Bailey (1889-1953) ~
Written for Good Housekeeping Magazine in 1933