Our Lady of the Wayside
Copyright butkovicdub (2015) via Morguefile.com.
Some days fly by with relative ease. The chores get done, the children behave, and life really feels enjoyable. But there are just as many that simply crawl by, the days that time seems to have forgotten, days suspended in damp, muggy heat that are rife with sibling squabbles, messy rooms, and hot tempers.
It is on these days especially that we need to remember that we are not alone. We have our beautiful Mom at our side, walking the path with us even though she’s already completed the journey herself.
A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law gave me a little booklet that she’d found at a church yard sale. Printed in 1934, it’s an all-purpose prayer book for the mom who knows that her only hope is prayer. It’s full of prayers for herself, children, family, sinners, and those in purgatory. The following struck me as a helpful reminder of Our Lady’s constant presence in our lives, and no amount of mugginess or foul moods will keep her away!
From Prayers of an Irish Mother:
Our Lady of the Wayside
O Lady of the Wayside, we are weak and we will falter.
When the rugged paths are winding out before us, mile on mile;
We have nought to give us courage but God’s Presence on the altar,
And the memory of His sufferings and the sunshine of thy smile.
Dear Lady of the Wayside, let thy lights be always gleaming,
As though all the darksome ages for the traveller they have glowed.
So they’ll lead us o’er the desert to the haven of our dreaming.
To thy Home, O Mother Mary, at the ending of the road.
Copyright 2015 Meg Matenaer.
Photo by butkovicdub (2015) via Morguefile.com
