A Realization, An Apology and A Promise

I know that I've already told you all this, but I really have the best mother in the world. I recently told you about her ability to find a certified birth certificate of mine that we all believed was lost forever. Her latest feat of sainthood was this past Saturday night. My mom, whose really name is Jeanie, is a manager for a makeup counter in Dillards at Sooner Fashion Mall. She works about 60 hours a week and is AMAZING at her job (last summer, they choose her to go to NYC to be one of a handful of internationally chosen managers to be honored). She called me on her way home on Saturday and I told her that I was furiously cleaning my house in prep for our homestudy this Wednesday. She immediately turned her car around and headed to my house. We cleaned, laughed and talked until almost 11p.m.! She was cleaning stuff that I would have never thought possible. She ran circles around me! While we were cleaning, we started talking about Bono and U2. I have never been a big U2 fan. I guess I had just never paid attention to their music. I pride myself on being a music lover, but I had never put a lot of thought into a band that I had never really followed. The one thing that I did know was the buzz around his NAACP's acceptance speech, but I had never seen it. When I told Mom about how God had moved Le and I's hearts to Africa, I thought about Bono and his countless efforts to aid those in need, especially in Africa. I suddenly became curious and while mom was soaking the hood above our microwave, I played it on my laptop for us. I cried as he talked about where God was and how it was unacceptable for children in the 21st century to die from mosquito bites.

I understand that most people do not look at an issue until it is staring them in the face and that through this adoption process Le and I have become more aware of global situations and the specific issues surrounding Africa and orphans, but I knew that I owed Bono an apology; not for failing to listen to his music, but for failing to pay attention. However, if I was going to apologize to someone I had never met, then I owed my Heavenly Father an apology as well. For all of the times that I turned away or completely ignored the cries of others, I am sorry. I am sorry to my children for not tending to their planet a little sooner, for not giving of myself more and taking for myself a little less, and for failing to use opportunities to further the Kingdom, I apologize. And I make myself, Bono and the Good Lord this promise: never again will I blindly deliver an opinion on an issue without being knowledgeable, prayful and thoughtful. I still am unsure as of the writing of this entry whether or not I am hereafter considered a U2 fan. I still cannot name more than two songs, but only time will tell. I have attached a pic of my mom so that you will all know what perfection in motherhood looks like.