Are You a Good Mother or a Bad Mother
The title is paraphrasing Dorothy Gale from the movie The Wizard of OZ. It can be difficult to tell the difference just by looking.
I am working my way through the Old Testament. I began jotting down the names of the women mentioned on an index card. To my surprise I have filled three cards front, back and margins and started a fourth.
Some of the women's names are probably well known to you. Heroes like Marian and Rahab, strong leaders like Deborah, great beauties like Bathsheba and beautiful evil ones like Jezabel and Delilah.
There are so many more, their names are listed with the description as "mother of....". This puzzled me for a while. If this was their only claim to fame why were they actually named?
Today, on this eve of Mother's Day (a holiday that did not exist as far as we know in Biblical times) the significance hit me. The mothers of particularly successful Godly men were named. The mothers of exceptionally evil leaders were named, often with the indication they came from a pagan region.
The Bible is crediting the mothers for the Godly rearing or lack there of that leads men to the future.
God recognized the most important contribution we as women make to the world. Teaching others to love and obey God.
OK so...report card time, uh oh. Don't worry, I am not grading you. You can look at yourself honestly and self assess.
For myself, D- My children went to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, Wednesday night Sparkies, Vacation Bible School, church camp and so on. However at home we did not live an example of a Godly life. There was fighting, drinking, fighting, cussing, fighting---did I mention fighting?
We didn't kneel for family prayer or read the Bible together. Of my four children only one attends church regularly. A young lady at our church who was struggling with her own family dynamics and I were talking. She was amazed that I struggled also. She said
"On Sunday mornings you look like the Brady Bunch." (Brady Bunch from Hell was the thought in my mind.) Yep - things aren't always as they seem.
Ladies, whether you are mothers or not you can have a profound impact on the youth around you. I am certainly thankful for my children's Sunday School Teachers, Youth Leaders, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers and understanding probation officers. (Not my story to tell here.)
I hope someday if I have grandchildren they will remember me as I remember my grandmother Ethel. On her knees in front of the couch holding hands with my grandfather as they prayed out loud.
I am working my way through the Old Testament. I began jotting down the names of the women mentioned on an index card. To my surprise I have filled three cards front, back and margins and started a fourth.
Some of the women's names are probably well known to you. Heroes like Marian and Rahab, strong leaders like Deborah, great beauties like Bathsheba and beautiful evil ones like Jezabel and Delilah.
There are so many more, their names are listed with the description as "mother of....". This puzzled me for a while. If this was their only claim to fame why were they actually named?
Today, on this eve of Mother's Day (a holiday that did not exist as far as we know in Biblical times) the significance hit me. The mothers of particularly successful Godly men were named. The mothers of exceptionally evil leaders were named, often with the indication they came from a pagan region.
The Bible is crediting the mothers for the Godly rearing or lack there of that leads men to the future.
God recognized the most important contribution we as women make to the world. Teaching others to love and obey God.
OK so...report card time, uh oh. Don't worry, I am not grading you. You can look at yourself honestly and self assess.
For myself, D- My children went to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, Wednesday night Sparkies, Vacation Bible School, church camp and so on. However at home we did not live an example of a Godly life. There was fighting, drinking, fighting, cussing, fighting---did I mention fighting?
We didn't kneel for family prayer or read the Bible together. Of my four children only one attends church regularly. A young lady at our church who was struggling with her own family dynamics and I were talking. She was amazed that I struggled also. She said
"On Sunday mornings you look like the Brady Bunch." (Brady Bunch from Hell was the thought in my mind.) Yep - things aren't always as they seem.
Ladies, whether you are mothers or not you can have a profound impact on the youth around you. I am certainly thankful for my children's Sunday School Teachers, Youth Leaders, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers and understanding probation officers. (Not my story to tell here.)
I hope someday if I have grandchildren they will remember me as I remember my grandmother Ethel. On her knees in front of the couch holding hands with my grandfather as they prayed out loud.
Mothers can and will make lots of mistakes but as long as their children feel assured of their mother’s love and acceptance, that’s all that can be asked.
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