This blog is in honor of Mothers Day. Let me preface this with the fact that I am by no means the model example of a great mother. Just ask my kids and husband! In this post I would like to share ways that I feel my mother made a HUGE impact on my life. As a mother I feel I should list some ideas of what I feel is important to be reminded. I like to say “progress NOT perfection”. If your standard is perfection then you might as well hand in the towel. Its like the person who goes on the strict diet and 2 days later throws in the towel. Diets don’t work because they are too restricting. You can’t be perfect so why try? This isn’t meant to be another blog about steps to take to be the best mom ever. Instead its simply my goal to focus on the things that will transpire time. What do you want your children to inherit from you? These are the things I’ve inherited from my mother and things I want my children to inherit from me. What an amazing legacy we can hand down!
- Love for Jesus
I never questioned if my mother loved Jesus. I knew she did. She is a devoted follower. This is something that I too have devoted my life to. I inherited her love for Jesus. What an incredible gift?! There is no better gift. My prayer for my children has been that they would love the Lord with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their mind (Matthew 22:37)
- Love for others
My mother was always sharing Jesus. She worked with many young people and they all loved her. She wasn’t always “preaching” Jesus (though she wasn’t hiding from her beliefs either). Her actions showed Jesus. People constantly commented that something was different about her. Thats what Jesus calls us to do 1- Love him and 2- love others. The word love is found in the Bible over 500 times! “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35. I love that saying “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words.” As christians it is our responsibility to live in a way that honors God and displays his love. Its God’s job to do the heart work. This is something I pray my children will live out.
- Prayer
My mom prayed a lot. I remember several times that God used my mom’s prayers to heal. He also used her prayers for simple things like finding something that was lost. Whatever it was she was a prayer warrior. I know she believes whole heartedly in the power of prayer. I pray with my children before school each day, at dinner time and just before bed. I try to pray scripture over them as much as possible. My words fall flat and often I’m not sure how to pray so I ask the holy spirit to guide me and he does. Two scriptures I pray that are on repeat:
-“Lord go before _____ and behind ______.” Deuteronomy 31:8
-“I pray ______ would grow in wisdom, and stature, and favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52
- Honesty
My mother was brutally honest and if she didn’t know she said she didn’t know. I respected that. I remember honesty was a core value my parents upheld. My parents were great at deception detection. I have found over the years however that if your not careful its easy to allow one lie to turn into a multitude of lies which eventually turns into something where you believe your own lies. Its a slippery slope. My prayer for my children is that the Lord would do whatever he needs to, to keep my children humble and honest.
- Hard Work
My mother was a hard worker. She owned her own business for many years and managed a dairy queen for several years. They encouraged us to work from young ages. I remember having a paper route when I was in about 4th or 5th grade. When I was 12 I detasseled corn in the summer months (I did this for about 4 or 5 years). When I was 16 I got a my first real job at a nursing home as an assistant cook. I worked hard. Since I was 16 I didn’t ever not have a job. I always had work. I want to pass this along to my children as well. Hard work helps develop a host of work ethics that are important for success in life.
I love how Mary (the mother of Jesus) was described several times as having pondered or treasured moments. That is my prayer for you this mothers day. Whether you are a grandma with adult children, a mom with young children or a single mom. My prayer is that you will find time to pause in this season and ponder the beautiful moments. We can get so caught up in the pace of time and forget the importance of pause. May you find treasures in the pause this Mothers Day.
To all of the mothers out there. Happy Mothers Day!
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”. 3 John 1:4
“My son, keep your fathers command and do not forsake your mothers teaching. Bind them always to your heart; fasten them around your neck.” Proverbs 6:20-21
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19
“But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” Luke 2:51