The Blessing of a Godly Mother

"Mother and Child" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

What a great blessing a godly mother is to her children!  I am privileged to have such as woman as my mother and have been greatly affected by her influence in my life.  My mother planned from the start of their family to stay at home with the children.  It was difficult financially for them at first, especially while my father was in engineering school, but she felt that it was best for her to be at home raising her children.

She remained at home through all of my childhood years, my sister's, and remains at home while my brother completes high school.  She is very intelligent and could have chosen to invest part of her time and energy elsewhere, but she instead chose to put it all into our family and service to our church and community.  I would like to thank her for the time, teaching and love she gave and continues to give me and my brother and sister.  Proverbs 31:28-31 says:

'Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all."  Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.  Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.' (NKJV)

My mother blessed me with her example of how a godly mother should serve her family.  She always put us ahead of herself.  I don't remember ever worrying about what we would have to eat, as my mother always prepared something for us.  I don't remember ever worrying about what I would wear, because my mother always made sure we had adequate clothing, whether by sewing or shopping for and with us.  I don't remember ever worrying about being sick, because I knew my mother was doing all she could to care for me.  She was a daily, living example of God's love for me.

My mother showed me how to be diligent, how to serve others, how to care for a home, how to love God, how to be a good Christian wife, how to teach, how to be patient, how to care for children, and how to be a good steward.  She taught me diligence through requiring me to do various chores around the house to care for my own things and those of our family.  She taught me service to others by setting a good example of service to those in need and especially to those in our church family.  We participated as a family in service activities such as caroling to the older people in our church at Christmastime and she also involved my sister and I in activities, such as baking and delivering cookies to our neighbors around the holidays.  She also selflessly served my father and us, her children.  She made sure we had the things we needed before purchasing anything for herself.  She taught me how to care for a home through her example and through teaching me to do various tasks, such as cooking and cleaning.  She made sure our home was clean, neat, and beautiful so that it was a blessing to our whole family and any others who were there.

She taught me how to love God by setting an example of obedience to God's direction in her own life and through giving precedence to Bible study and church attendance.  She taught me how to be a Christian wife  by her service and devotion to my father.  She taught me how to teach through her role as a Sunday school teacher at our congregation and through involving me in teaching and assisting in Bible classes as I grew into a young woman.  She also taught me to read at home by home-schooling me in kindergarten before sending me to school in first grade.  

She taught me how to be patient by her example of patience with us.  I know she had a lot of patience to put up with the many faults and mistakes of me and my brother and sister.  One area she really demonstrated patience with us was with our desire for pets, which would inevitably end up being taken care of by her for the most part once they had resided at our home for a while!  She taught me how to care for children by letting me be involved in the care of my brother, who is twelve years my junior, and by encouraging me to babysit and help out in the nursery at church.  This prior experience was a great blessing to me when I had my first baby, because I did not feel quite the fish out of water that I could have been if I had lacked this experience. She taught me good stewardship by wisely allocating our resources in her areas of influence (such as groceries and clothing), thereby supporting my father in living within our means.  

I know there are many other areas in which my mother positively influenced my life, but these are the ones that stand out to me.  Now that I have a husband and three children of my own, I can understand much better how my mother sacrificed for our family and how she followed Christ's example of putting others first.  My mother embodies Philippians 2:3-4 in our family:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Now, don't get me wrong.  My father is a good Christian man and has also played a great role in my life.  I greatly appreciate the blessings I have through him as well, but, as a woman who is now a wife and mother myself, I can more closely identify with my mother's influence in my life.  I praise God for the great blessing He gave me when He placed me in my mother's womb.  When I grew up, I knew that I wanted to be the same blessing to my husband and children that she was to our family.  I am privileged to have her as a mother, mentor and friend!