Hello my friends! It’s been a crazy week so far, but it’s smoothing out and I want to settle for a moment and share with you some thoughts.
It’s getting close to Mother’s Day and as always, our thoughts turn to those who carried us and who gave birth to us, as God’s perfect plan for our lives began. Most of you know that my own mother went to heaven when I was little girl, so there is a poignancy to my ponderings this week. I so often wonder what my life would have been if I had had the privilege of growing up with her loving wisdom and grace surrounding me. What would she think of the woman I am now? How would I be different had I not experienced the grief of her passing? And the bitterness and resentment that filled me for so many years?
When my first book came out I sent a copy to my aunt, my dad’s sister. She knew my mother well, and she called me after receiving the book and said, “Oh, Lois. Your mother would be so proud of you!” Something broke inside me at those words, and I cried and cried as a healing peace settled over my heart. I had not realized how much I craved words of approval that my mother might have uttered. It was a huge step toward a renewed sense of my worth.
So, as I sit here at my computer thinking of you and all of the issues that surround our mothers and our own mothering, I want to say that my heart goes out to all of us…because all of us are affected one way or another by how we are mothered. Some are blessed by having had, or still have, a nurturing relationship with your mother. Some are wounded by rejection or painful relationships. Some are longing to become a mother and finding disappointment. I believe, as well, that some of you are facing that final earthly separation, as age and illness take their toll. Whatever is the case in your life right now, I encourage you to know at the depth of yourself that God is sovereign over our lives. He longs to heal the painful things, and receive praise for the good things.
I am a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. My own blessing came from having a mother-in-law who loved me as sweetly and intensely as if she had borne me. She often told me so. I have no idea of what I would have done as a mother without her! My prayer is that I will be the kind of mother-in-law to my sons’ wives that she was to me. To love them unconditionally and be supportive as they walk alongside of our sons. To celebrate their own mothering and keep my mouth shut!! (Unless they ask, of course!) Seriously, the best way we can give God thanks is to be all He has made us to be, and nurture that goal in those who come after.
I pray for myself that those who are coming behind me will see and know my faith and my heart. That my grandchildren and great-grands will observe a life that honors God. Billy Graham once said: “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or the material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”
For you, however you will be observing Mother’s Day on Sunday, my prayer is that you will pause for a moment and let your Heavenly Father speak His love into your soul. And that you will resolve to say with the Psalmist, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.” Psalm 78:4.That’s all for today!
Love,
Lois