Honoring My Mom

Yesterday was Mother's Day. I was blessed to attend church in the morning with my loving husband and amazing Mom, and we were all blessed to hear a message from our guest speaker Dr. Gary Chapman. He spoke about the Five Signs of a Loving Family, which was based on Ephesians 5:21-6:4.

The Five Signs he gave us were:
1) an attitude of service
2) Intimacy between Husband and Wife
3) Parents who Teach and Train
4) Husbands who are Loving Leaders
5) Children who obey and Honor their parents.

He told us that the best parents bring their children up in the Nurture (Actions) and Admonition (Words) of the Lord, and that these two must always go together, in the context of love.

I have been thinking on these five signs, ways to make sure that I raise my children in a home with a loving family, and thinking on how I know I was raised in one. Love was something that I was never short on growing up. I always knew that I was loved by my parents. They both expressed their love in different ways, but today I want to focus on my amazing Mama.

My Mom was my Matron of Honor at my wedding and is my Best Friend. Growing up, I did not have the best of luck with friendships. I was hurt or betrayed by just about every friend I had growing up, and I allowed those experiences to shape my self esteem as a teenager and as a woman. It wasn't until last year doing Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study, that I was able to understand God's hand in it all. I was able to see through all of those experiences that I wasn't alone like I had thought, but that my Mom had been my rock. Of course, God was with me, too, but He blessed me with amazing parents and in particular, my amazing Mom.

Growing up, it was through the gift of my Mom that I learned: what it meant to love, what a friend truly was, the meaning of loyalty, how to truly accept others for who they are, to openly and honestly communicate with others, how to truly be happy for others, how to be silly, how to find JOY in life, the importance of family, the importance of celebrating little things, a love of reading, and how to be a good Mom. I know I learned so much more from her, but these immediately come to mind.

The lessons I learned from my Mom didn't stop in childhood. Late last year, I was blessed to have my parents move into the house behind me. As a result, I have spent more time with each of them in the last five months then I did in the last five years! Most recently, my mom has inspired me to continue in the Word. Gregg and I had committed ourselves to reading the entire Bible last year. I ended the year almost on schedule, with only the 4 Gospels remaining. That should be a breeze, right? Well, maybe not! Life happened and my good diligent reading ended. Up until last week, I STILL had the 4 Gospels remaining. But my Mom? Since last August, she has read the entire NIV Bible and the books in the Catholic Bible that aren't in the NIV! I have been watching her spiritual growth and insights in awe, and last week I finally allowed that to inspire me to get back on my own plan again. So far, so good, and it is because of my Mom's example and model that got me back on track.

She also continues to teach me how to be a better Mom. I love watching her with my girls! It brings wonderful memories to mind of my own childhood, of the silly songs and my Mama's beautiful laughter and smile. When I was the reason for that laughter and smile, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.... and still do :-) I LOVE that my children will be able to grow up with both of my parents so close -- not only will they learn so much from having different generations to look to, but they will be blessed by the unconditional love and support that I was blessed with through my parents.

Mom, I want you to know that I love you so much, that I have so much respect and admiration for you, and that you have truly been a blessing to me. You have taught me so much about life, marriage, womanhood, and motherhood. I may not get to say it as often as I would like, but THANK YOU!