Background Music

Just recently I was looking at pictures of a friend's sweet little girl. One of them struck me. It struck me not only because the 10-month-old was adorable, but because her mother was holding her. But more than just being a picture of mother and daughter, it was impressive because of what the photographer did. She focused on the little girl and everything around her - her mother included - was blurry.

As soon as I saw it, I thought: This really does represent motherhood. (And, no, not just because we are so tired that we feel a little foggy!)

Seeing that picture made me think that mothers are the background music of our lives. Yes, sometimes as mothers we are front and center, clearly in focus, the explicit driving force in the lives of our children and families. But, perhaps more often, we are the background...the thing that changes how our children look and see, even when they don't realize our influence...the thing that is constant, always present, even when they aren't thinking about us being there. I think my mom is that in my life and I think I'm that for my boys.

And maybe it's not such a bad image for God, as well. Sure, there are times when we are clearly focused on God, when we are really aware of God's presence and God's influence...and then there is the rest of our lives...that time when God is present, is the background music that we might not even notice but that we couldn't live without.