Happy Mother's Day!

As we celebrate Mother's Day this weekend, I want to stop and wish all the mothers a blessed and happy Mother's Day, especially my mother.

Proverbs 31:28 New Living Translation

28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:

It is such an honor to be called mom. All of us have our own experiences with motherhood. As a child, I remember that I had no idea what a great responsibility it was to have children. Of my mother's three daughters, I was the most challenging one. According to her report, I came here being rebellious, stubborn and mouthy. And no matter how much love and discipline my mother would pour upon me, I always thought of her as my nemesis. It took years before I realized that she had sacrificed everything for me and my sisters to make sure that we were protected and provided for. She made sure that we were always clean and fed. Like many of the kids who were raised in the 50's and 60's, we were taught to clean house, do laundry, iron, sew and to cook. She showed us how to be a wife and a mother. She made sure that we kept our grades up at school and that we knew how to stand up for ourselves and how to think for ourselves. She taught us

how to respect our elders and how to behave in church. My mother also made sure that we were confident in who we were and did not need the approval of outsiders to affirm our worthiness.

These were lessons that I did not really appreciate until I was married and had kids of my own. I don't know if my mother was intentionally trying to live out Proverbs 31:28 or if God had just gifted her this way. All I know is all of her children cannot deny that she is blessed. God blessed her with the wisdom to love each of her three children in the individual way that we needed it, yet in the same quantity. She supported our career choices (and I had many). She gave us enough rope to make personal choices once we were adults and enough grace to love us through them when it was not the best choice.

I am sure it has been very difficult at times for my mom to watch her three daughters raise her grandchildren in some ways that were different from hers. Rather than being controlling and offering unsolicited advice, she did what she still does, she talks about it to the ONE who can fix it. Yes, my mother is a woman of prayer. Her confidence in God is so strong that she has no worries about her three children, 5 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and her 1 great-great-grandchild.

As I look at her now, 82 and of a sound mind and body, I can't help but to be thankful to God for the blessing that she continues to be to our family. She is our biggest cheerleader and she is still willing to go to the mat (on her knees) for anyone of us when the devil dares to attack us. I love my mother and I thank God for loving me enough to give me just the kind of mother that I needed.

Blessings,

Pastor Karen