Think it over

Several years ago I asked the ministry staff at the church I was pastoring to reflect on how their mothers had influenced their lives. Here are a few of the responses I received.

"The interest, concern, and care for older people that my mother modelled in a Christlike manner impacted my life to the extent that today I am involved in a ministry with senior adults" (Dave Jobe).

"Trying to define my mother's influence is like trying to talk definitively about clean air, pure water, warm sunshine, and the law of gravity. She consistently modelled faith, patience, love, hard work, and forgiveness" (Paul Sailhamer).

"It was at my mother's knee that I learned many of the values I hold today. A disciplined life of service for the Lord and to the needy stand out in my mind. No job was too big, no sacrifice too great, no circumstance too difficult to serve the Lord. Total trust in an all-powerful God was her guarantee of success. Her unflinching belief in me gave motivation and strength" (Doug Haag).

"My mom is the greatest. I will always remember her for taking time to be with me as a child, praying for me as I wandered away from the Lord as an adolescent, and even now caring about me as an adult. It was through her that I learned the compassionate side of life" (Bruce Camp).

"One of the fondest memories of Mother's influence on my life came in the first grade when I was sent to sit outside the class for talking out of turn. My mother worked as an aide at the school, and I was filled with dread as I saw her walking down the breezeway toward me. As she approached she asked, 'Have you been talking aloud in class?' I nodded. She laughed. She never mentioned the incident again. In her own subtle way she was teaching me that I had the responsibility of accepting the consequences for my own actions" (Dean Anderson).

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