Mother's Day

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her" 

Proverbs 31:28 ESV

Today is Mother's Day and all over the country we will celebrate the women in our lives that gave us life. The woman that wiped our butts and our noses when we couldn't, the woman that washed our clothes and cleaned our rooms when we wouldn't, and the woman that gave every ounce of herself to us and when it was all gone she gave us a little bit more. 

Until we become parents, we can't really comprehend the amount of sacrifice that our parents gave to make sure that we had what we needed let alone what we wanted. I mean it starts with the pain and suffering in bearing a child. I have been in a delivery room and as a man I can tell you that there is no way I would voluntarily go through something like that. I am far too selfish. But a woman will. They feel a need deep inside themselves even when they are young to mother and nurture a baby. The experience all the pain that God laid on womankind when Adam and Eve fell and still we keeping having more babies. 

I have been blessed to have some great women in my life growing up. My mom worked hard during the day outside the home then would come home to make sure that my sister and I had what we needed. My grandmother (her mother) would come stay with us for weeks on end and pick up the slack anywhere it was. Whether it was laundry, cooking, or cleaning, she was there for her daughter and for her grandchildren. Both an immense blessing in my life. Both sacrificed themselves on the altar of motherhood to make sure their children and grandchildren had all that they needed. From basketball shoes to choir trips to a simple meal of corn bread and fried potatoes, it was always more than enough.       

Last fall, I lost my last living grandparent. I was fortunate enough to get to spend some last moments with her. While she wasn't able to communicate much to me verbally, I could see the love she had for me in her eyes. I could see when she sensed the Lord was near in that ICU room and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when I held her hand. I will never forget as long as I live sitting in a chair next to her bed, holding her hand and singing the old hymns that she loved so much to her as she was slipping off into eternity. It is a moment that I will cherish the rest of my life. She instilled in me a love for God's Word and showed me what a prayer warrior was supposed to look like. She sacrificed for her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in ways that we never realized. 

And those are only three examples of women that deserve to be praised for their actions in my life. There have been countless others, while not my mother or grandmothers, that have impacted my life in a positive way. Mothers in another way. Women that sacrificed their time as Sunday School teachers, Youth Leaders, Teachers, Professors, and countless other roles to simply pour God into my life and set a Godly example for me. So today as we celebrate, remember all the women that impacted your life and rise up and call them blessed. Thank them for the sacrifices that they made to show you the way to live.