Today is a day we take the time to remember our Mothers. When God created mothers He made a wonderful thing. When we stop and think back to when we were small I am sure most, if not all of us, fondly remember our Mother and the love she taught us, not just by her words but by her actions. Not all mothers are Christians, but mine was and she taught me about God as far back as I can remember. Once again she not only taught me by her words but by her actions. She would make sure we were the best kids in the neighborhood, in fact the other kids in the neighborhood would ask, “gang warden when can your prisoners come out and play?” She made sure she knew where we were at all times. There was no doing anything bad on her watch, and if we did slip and do something she didn’t approve of, we received punishment for “our crimes”. There was no waiting on Dad to get home. In fact I think we were more afraid of Momma than Daddy. I know I was. Now that I am a grown-up (most days) I appreciate the Mother God gave me, she is part of the reason I am a Christian today.
When we read our Bible we see a lot of different stories about Mothers. There were some that you have to think, they sure would not have gotten a Mother of the Year award. The very first one was Eve. When I get to Heaven I want to have a long conversation with dear ole Eve. I want to ask her “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” There you were living in a beautiful garden, that was like Heaven on earth, and along comes a snake and you let him talk you into disobeying God. Was that piece of fruit that worth it???? I think not. First of all if a snake gets that close to me I am not about to stick around to hold a conversation with him. I guess talking and walking snakes back then was the norm but still….
Another Mom that comes to mind that was not a very good influence on her children was Lot’s wife. God had chosen to save them after dear ole uncle Abraham had pleaded for their lives when it was decided that Sodom and Gomorrah had to be destroyed. The only thing they had to do was RUN and NOT LOOK BACK! Seems pretty simple doesn’t it? Run for your life! There’s fire and brimstone flying all around and all you have to do is NOT LOOK BACK!
We could try to imagine all the reasons that she looked back but not one of them was worth it. Maybe she was thinking about her other daughters that didn’t come with her, maybe she was thinking about her possessions she had to leave behind. I guess we’ll never know, but we do know that she will forever be remembered as a life size statue of SALT!
I know it seems like these Mothers made some pretty bad mistakes in their lives but they were put in the Bible for a reason. I believe that God wants us to learn from mistakes, whether they are our own or someone else’s. Daniel and Joshua can tell you, I am always pointing out “life lessons” to them. “Don’t you dare do what “Johnny” did… Don’t you ever repeat that stunt again...” “Don’t you ever drive like that idiot!”
Now, on to some wonderful examples in the Bible of Godly Mothers. I love the story of Jochebed, Moses’ Mother. She was not afraid to put her tiny son in a little boat and set him afloat on the Nile River. I cannot imagine the fear she must have had in her heart for her son. If she kept him with her he would be killed, if she let him float down the Nile he could be killed. I am sure she was thinking about the crocodiles and snakes that could easily take her baby. But she was obedient to God and trusted him to take care of her son, who we know was to be the one to lead the Israelites to freedom. Thank God for trusting Mothers.
Another Godly Mother is Hannah. I am amazed that after many years of not being able to have children, God blessed her with a son and then she gave him back to God. Most all of us have gone through the dedication service with our newborns. We stand up front and thank God for giving us a child and then go through the motions of “giving them” back to Him. Hannah didn’t just go through the motions; she GAVE her only son back to GOD. He went to live in the Temple with Eli, the old prophet. He was probably around 2-3 years old. I cannot imagine what her husband must have thought about her, she waited for years for that son and then she gave him away!
What faith in God Hannah had, she didn’t know if she would have any more children or not. But God was faithful to her and blessed her with 3 sons and 2 daughters. Hannah is the perfect example of a praying Mother, a woman who didn’t give up petitioning God for a child until He heard and answered her prayer. We as Mothers should be more like Hannah. Keep on praying for that child, DON’T EVER give up, and most importantly let them know that you are praying for them! The legacy I want to leave for my children is that their Mother taught them to pray. Thank God for praying Mothers.
Mothers, we are the glue that holds our family together. We are there for our children; we will do anything for them. We would fight ‘til the death for them, well the biggest fight of their lives is the one to keep satan from claiming their souls. I don’t ever want to do anything that would cause one of my sons to turn his back on God. As Mothers we should teach by example, if you want your children to live for God, then you have to do the same. In 2 Timothy 1:5 Paul tells Timothy “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” This scripture points out that if you live a Christian life, then your children and grandchildren will follow your example. Proverbs 22:6 tells us “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Moms it looks like we have our work cut out for us! Like Jochebed, Hannah and all the other Godly Mothers, let’s keep those prayers going up for our children and like in Proverbs 31:28 our kids will rise up and call us BLESSED!
