Or Good Night Dawg Nation for you night owls out there. We're past midnight so technically it is morning. 😁
Top o’ the morn and HAPPY MOTHER’S Day to all the moms who will be reading this post. A BIG THANKS to the #1 Mom of our little club, Lady A Dawg, for asking me to lead off this morning. Through some of the stories and memories that I have shared on here, I think most should be aware that I was very close with my mother. We shared a wonderful relationship over the years. She was a marvelous Christian role model for me. I try to emulate her example with my own children. How blessed I was to have her for 53 years.
In May 2018, I wrote a small piece for our church newsletter in which I honored my mother, but more importantly, I wrote about the love of a mother’s heart of which there is no greater example than Jesus’ mother, Mary. This article was included with the program at my mother’s funeral. I am thankful that she was able to read it before her passing in 2020. And, how heartwarming it was to me to find a folded copy of it among her keepsakes as I sorted through things in her home following her passing.
Although I think I may have shared the article a couple years ago in a GMDN thread, it seems appropriate to do so again. My hope and prayer is that its words will be meaningful in some way to you.
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” This is a quote from Abraham Lincoln that I read recently. President Lincoln’s words must certainly ring true for those of us who have been blessed with a praying, godly mother. As I look forward to Mother’s Day this month, I can’t help but reflect on how my life has been shaped by my mother. From a Christian perspective, by and large, I lived an idyllic life as a child - the blessing was asked before every meal, we attended church most every week, and keeping God in His proper position at the top of our priorities was often stressed. During my earliest years, my mother was a stay-at-home mom. My father worked out of town, and since I was an only child, most of my days were spent alone with my mother. Through readings from a family heirloom Bible story book, sharing memories of her own childhood salvation experience and countless other ways of modeling a Christian life, my mother made the most of our time together through emphasizing to me the importance of having Christ in my life. The measure of a mother’s heart is reflected in the investment and sacrifices she makes for her children. The life I enjoy today is a testament to my mother’s heart.
Although this is a generalization which clearly has exceptions, I have often said that I believe the closest earthly comparison to God’s love is a mother’s love. As I consider motherly hearts, Jesus’ mother Mary comes quickly to mind. I really cannot begin to comprehend the range of emotion that Mary must have felt as she raised Jesus and followed him during His earthly ministry. I try to imagine how heartrending it must have been for Mary as she sat at the foot of the cross and watched her son – God’s son – suffer and die the harshest of deaths. How could a mother watch her son’s flesh be torn away and listen to the vulgarities hurled his way as she did? But, how could she - the woman who bore Savior of the World - not be there with Him in His darkest hour? Did she understand this was the fate of her son when Simeon told her “…a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:35) during the time a child-aged Jesus preached in the temple court? Do you think, as I do, that Mary would have willingly taken Jesus’ place on the cross? The depth of a godly mother’s love has no limit. For just a moment, imagine if this was your child who was being ruthlessly beaten and sacrificed as an atonement for others’ sins, many of whom would later reject him and his gift. What would be the emotional toll on your heart?
Even while dying, Jesus was preoccupied with others. He thought of his mother, among others, and made arrangements to ensure that she would not lack anything. “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27) This clearly speaks to Christ’s love and concern for His mother. This Mother’s Day, I encourage you to set aside time to properly honor your mother or your mother’s memory. I pray that God will richly bless each of our mothers on their special day.
@bart47 special prayers for you and your family today. You have really been on my heart the last few days and frequently in my prayers. May God bless!
Y'all have a blessed day!
Top o’ the morn and HAPPY MOTHER’S Day to all the moms who will be reading this post. A BIG THANKS to the #1 Mom of our little club, Lady A Dawg, for asking me to lead off this morning. Through some of the stories and memories that I have shared on here, I think most should be aware that I was very close with my mother. We shared a wonderful relationship over the years. She was a marvelous Christian role model for me. I try to emulate her example with my own children. How blessed I was to have her for 53 years.
In May 2018, I wrote a small piece for our church newsletter in which I honored my mother, but more importantly, I wrote about the love of a mother’s heart of which there is no greater example than Jesus’ mother, Mary. This article was included with the program at my mother’s funeral. I am thankful that she was able to read it before her passing in 2020. And, how heartwarming it was to me to find a folded copy of it among her keepsakes as I sorted through things in her home following her passing.
Although I think I may have shared the article a couple years ago in a GMDN thread, it seems appropriate to do so again. My hope and prayer is that its words will be meaningful in some way to you.
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” This is a quote from Abraham Lincoln that I read recently. President Lincoln’s words must certainly ring true for those of us who have been blessed with a praying, godly mother. As I look forward to Mother’s Day this month, I can’t help but reflect on how my life has been shaped by my mother. From a Christian perspective, by and large, I lived an idyllic life as a child - the blessing was asked before every meal, we attended church most every week, and keeping God in His proper position at the top of our priorities was often stressed. During my earliest years, my mother was a stay-at-home mom. My father worked out of town, and since I was an only child, most of my days were spent alone with my mother. Through readings from a family heirloom Bible story book, sharing memories of her own childhood salvation experience and countless other ways of modeling a Christian life, my mother made the most of our time together through emphasizing to me the importance of having Christ in my life. The measure of a mother’s heart is reflected in the investment and sacrifices she makes for her children. The life I enjoy today is a testament to my mother’s heart.
Although this is a generalization which clearly has exceptions, I have often said that I believe the closest earthly comparison to God’s love is a mother’s love. As I consider motherly hearts, Jesus’ mother Mary comes quickly to mind. I really cannot begin to comprehend the range of emotion that Mary must have felt as she raised Jesus and followed him during His earthly ministry. I try to imagine how heartrending it must have been for Mary as she sat at the foot of the cross and watched her son – God’s son – suffer and die the harshest of deaths. How could a mother watch her son’s flesh be torn away and listen to the vulgarities hurled his way as she did? But, how could she - the woman who bore Savior of the World - not be there with Him in His darkest hour? Did she understand this was the fate of her son when Simeon told her “…a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:35) during the time a child-aged Jesus preached in the temple court? Do you think, as I do, that Mary would have willingly taken Jesus’ place on the cross? The depth of a godly mother’s love has no limit. For just a moment, imagine if this was your child who was being ruthlessly beaten and sacrificed as an atonement for others’ sins, many of whom would later reject him and his gift. What would be the emotional toll on your heart?
Even while dying, Jesus was preoccupied with others. He thought of his mother, among others, and made arrangements to ensure that she would not lack anything. “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27) This clearly speaks to Christ’s love and concern for His mother. This Mother’s Day, I encourage you to set aside time to properly honor your mother or your mother’s memory. I pray that God will richly bless each of our mothers on their special day.
@bart47 special prayers for you and your family today. You have really been on my heart the last few days and frequently in my prayers. May God bless!
Y'all have a blessed day!
