A Godly Mother

All of us preachers and teachers have taught a lesson on the “Proverbs 31 woman.” This text has been used for Mother’s Day since the ark docked. (That, by the way, is what is called hyperbole.)  

I wish the CRA had a dollar donated to our ministry each time that Proverbs 31 is read or referenced at a funeral. Let me ask you this question, “Have you ever really read the first verse of that Proverb?” I know you have but if you are like me, and nobody wants that, you skim over the first verse to get to the “meat” of the message. Here is what it says: “The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him.” Did you catch it? Do you see it? King Lemuel is passing on to us what his mother taught him. 

May is the month we celebrate and honor mothers. Every one of us has one. Most of us believe when God gave us our mother, He gave us the very best one in the world. I feel that way about my mother, and I hope you feel that way about yours. 

Years ago, I read a book about the psychology of being a parent. One of the areas covered was the difference in how a father and mother react to and feel about their children. The author even talked about the difference in thinking when they get the news that they are going to be parents for the first time. (Please remember I am writing about good parents, parents who are what God wants.)  

He said when the mother hears the news, “You are going to be a mother,” she instantly forms a bond with her child. An emotional attachment happens immediately. When the father-to-be hears the news, while he is overjoyed and happy, the bond between father and child doesn’t happen immediately. 

When does the bond between father and child take place? According to the doctor writing the book, it happens the first time he holds the child (I know some will disagree with this, but that makes sense to me). 

Now I want to change course and tell you how God richly blessed me and my sister with the best mother in the world. 

There are many reasons I love and honor my mother. The first is she was a Christian. She loved our Lord and served Him faithfully all her life. I have told you many times I am thankful for my family because I was brought up in a Christian home that loved and served Christ. My mother followed Christ. 

Also, my mother taught Sunday School. She was my teacher. (If you have ever had your own mother for a Sunday School teacher you know that can be misery.) I remember being so happy when I was promoted from the Beginners Class to the Primary Class. Finally, I would have a new teacher. However, when I got to the class that Sunday, they had promoted my mother! 

When asked the question, “Who was the most influential person in bringing you to Christ,” the answer for me would be, “My mother.” She taught me the plan of salvation. It was from her I heard the first time that to have my sins forgiven I had to follow what Christ taught. She was the first person who told me I had to be born of water and spirit. In plain talk, she was the first person to tell me, “You must be baptized to be saved.” 

This teaching did not come in Sunday School. It was taught to me while she sat on the side of my bed. This was the most important lesson she taught me. I will see her again someday because she taught me this lesson. 

Every night as we went to bed, she told me she loved me. She showed her love, with hundreds of meals she prepared, prayers she said with me, clothes she bought for me, time she spent with me, and yes, those incessant lectures she gave about my bad behavior. (You’ve heard it too, “You know better. That was not the way you were taught.”) She said she loved me when she told me no, and on those occasions, she gave me a good ole fashioned spanking (and they worked). 

I could go on and on, but I must stop somewhere. Let me say God blessed me with a godly mother. She was born in the depression and was raised in hard times. She told me about those days. She saw her husband taken from her and sent to Europe to fight in World War II (thankfully, he came home.) 

She left this earthly life and went home to be with our Lord five months before her husband of fifty-four years. All she wanted for me and my sister was to know Jesus and to have a better life than she did. Well, she achieved that goal and so much more. 

Thank you, Father, for my mom. 

Next month I would like to tell you about another wonderful woman God put in my life.