1. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being continually changed by God. I look at my mom and know she’s not perfect. She has sinned and still does. But I have been able to witness God’s transforming grace in her life over the years and how he is shaping her still. That is an invaluable testimony to me of his faithfulness and love.
2. The most important thing I can model for my children is what it means to have a genuine relationship with the living God. Of all the weaknesses that my mom has, being fake is not one of them. I have seen the beauty and the struggle of walking the Christian life. I have seen it specifically in being a mommy and dealing with trusting her children to God, wondering about the worth of her work at times, and more, and I know I can look forward to growing in the same way.
3. Real love disciplines. Mommy has sought out my good even to the point of my being angry and upset with her (years of it…) She has loved me enough to speak the truth even when I wouldn’t take it well. And though I wish I could’ve taken it better and more humbly, I’m SO thankful that she didn’t leave me to do my own thing for the sake of my not being angry with her.
4. Being a mom means loving sacrificially in the everyday. This hurts. It isn’t glorious. It gives without being motivated by the prospect of being thanked for many years. It is most often in the mundane, everyday, repetitive things- countless loads of laundry, meals, clothing, cleaning, reminding, and driving kids through rush hour traffic to catch the express bus because they missed it (again) at the stop by the house.
5. I need to stand on the conviction of God’s sovereignty and goodness in all things. I can’t look to my children’s behavior and relationship with God for joy. God needs to be my Rock that I stand on for those times when they may not be walking with him.
6. I can’t change my child’s heart, but I can speak the truth and pray hard until God gets her heart for himself. Only God knows how much of who I am today is in response to my mom’s prayers. She told me things about God and my own life that I often wasn’t ready to hear. For a while her words could not change me and my heart didn’t understand them. But I am thankful that she still taught and spoke into my life because once God got a hold of my heart, things she’d said before started making sense and she became my most valuable source of wisdom.
7. There is a wonderful friendship to look forward to and pray for. If God so grants the years and time on Earth, I look forward to mu daughter and I being able to fellowship as sisters as I do with my mom. And I hope to be as humble as my mom, willing even to learn from my own daughter.
Thanks, Mommy. I love you! Happy Mother’s Day!
Keeping Heart 