In photograph at right - That's my mom and dad celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
You know, as I honor my mother with today’s essay, I recall that God was so protective of parents, He included the way we should treat our mothers and fathers as one of the Ten Commandments, which He gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
In fact, Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12a (NIV)) is so important to the Man above, he positioned this law as the first commandment that did not focus on our relationship with Him. In my humble opinion, that puts family as a close second to our relationship with
God. Agreed?
I know that I have been guilty of dishonor where my parents are concerned. You probably have too. My teenage years were a good example of sinning against the Creator by taking my parents’ direction with a grain of salt. Sure, I obeyed their rules for the most part, but there were times when the rules seemed foolish and restrictive. When that was the case, well…
Anyway, I love my mother. She is a rock. She is kind. She is loving. She is ever-thoughtful. She is a great mom. She made sure we had opportunities for advancement. She demanded good grades. She supported our ambitions.
Mom even meted out punishment as necessary, but it was always done with the attitude that, “This is going to hurt me more than it does you.” Of course I never understood how a whack with “the paddle” could hurt mom more than me – at least I did not understand until I became an adult.
Besides, as a God-fearing household, mom had the Bible to back her up on the punishment thing – Proverbs 13:24 (NIV) says, Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.
When you consider that she raised four children, working full time in the process, you understand that our SUPER MOM had our backs. We never lacked for anything from our mother.
Not only, through our parents’ considerable sacrifice, did we get our education in one of the top public school systems in the nation, they also saw to it that we had a foundation in faith from Patterson Park Brethren Church.
Each and every Sunday, Mom corralled all of us, making sure we were dressed and ready for Sunday school (dad drove the church bus). We also attended Sunday morning and evening worship services as well as Wednesday night prayer meeting. We all went to vacation Bible school and I had the opportunity to go to church camp too. Still have fond memories of all of these excursions in the faith.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) reads, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. My mom and dad believed, and practiced, this proverb. Far be it from me to argue with its success. Not counting a few bumps in the road, we all turned out pretty good.
My mom and dad are proud of all of their children, as well they should be. They raised us to honor God and family, which is the way all parents should bring up their children. Thank God mine did it the right way. Without God in my life, I really do not know how I could have handled some of the trials I have experienced on this earth.
Thank you, mom and dad for setting your children on the right path early on.
But this is primarily about my mom, so I will end today's post with…
My mom is the best. I love her with all my heart. She is everything to me. She is in my heart. She is in my thoughts. She is in my prayers. She is…well…MY MOM!
I love you, mom.
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