A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
- Washington Irving

I want to pay tribute to the very person whom God used to be an instrument to show how much He loves me. God must have thought that He could not personally let me feel His great love for me, and so He sent someone who would do the job for Him. And this person accomplished that job in such a perfect manner.

That person happened to be my mom.

It is so hard to write something about my mom without shedding a tear or two. But I will try.

My mom loved me so much. She wanted to live longer and to fight for her life for my brother and me. She said she still wanted to see how our lives would be like, the partners we would have, and the kids we would nurture. She said she would take care of her grandchildren.

But she was not given that chance. It was sad, but I tried to focus on the brighter side of things.

Now whenever I think about her, the more I get challenged to be the good mom that she was to me. She was not perfect. She had a lot of misgivings as a parent, as a wife, as a simple human being. But her grace and courage urged her to pull herself up when she stumbled. She was every inch a fighter.

She knew a lot of things. She was a streetsmart. She knew how to cook well, sew our torn clothes, and organize things well. But best of all, she knew how to love.