|
Join us this week as we celebrate… “The Unconditional Love & Sacrifice Made by Mothers” It was a great time together for those who could be with us at our Night of Worship & Prayer last Sunday night! I’m sending a shout out to Sarah along with Kevin & Barb Williar of “JACOB’S WELL MINISTRY and to our team who helped organize the event, the band who led us in “singing our prayers” and our prayer leaders for the evening, Gary Norman, Phil LaMaster, Jeff Murphy and Barb Williar. One of the great blessings in devotional writing is to be fortunate enough to incorporate guest writers from time to time. And with Mother’s Day coming up this next weekend, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for a godly point of view from one our ladies who has been involved in the Finishing Well Ministry since it began. So please join me in thanking and welcoming BONNIE UNDERWOOD as she shares her heart and perspective on this special upcoming holiday! She and her husband, Max have been a part of the Northside fellowship & ministry since about the time our family came to town, which was the “turn of the century”. They are dear friends, fellow servants & great encouragers to so many people & ministries in the Kingdom! Here’s Bonnie’s picture and bio. You’ll be blessed by her honest sharing on this special holiday. Thanks Bonnie! “Bonnie is known as a caring person who is a natural born problem-solver!. This talent and trait has served her well in her previous careers, prior to retirement. She has a deep sense of responsibility. She and Max have been married 44 years. She’s a loving mother & grandmother. All of her family & friends know her as a faithful prayer warrior. Bonnie is a cancer survivor who led a cancer support group at NCC for 7 years. She feels God has called her to a “Care Ministry” and is grateful for every opportunity to “care for and love on” others. Bonnie is a helper in our Finishing Well Ministry and enjoys encouraging others to “finish well”, too!”
“The Unconditional LOVE & Sacrifice Made by MOTHERS”
There is an old saying, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” A mother usually sets the mood of the home. If Momma is at peace, everyone benefits! When I remember this old saying, I ask myself, “What would Jesus say”? Do you think that He ever saw His mother not happy or not at peace? Do you think Jesus ever wondered if His mother was really happy or content? I think Mary experienced both joy and sorrow, but the Scriptures portray her as a woman of faith and peace. She certainly found her strength in her relationship with God. How hard was it to say YES to God’s plan? I can only imagine how she would have digested and mulled it over and over in her mind. Mary, the mother who is “blessed among women”. Eve was the first mother mentioned in the Bible. She was special from the moment she was created, not only because she was the first woman created, but she was the perfect woman until her free will caused her to sin. She was the first woman to bear a child. There were so many other great examples of mothers in the Bible, including Sarah, the mother who waited, Hagar, the mother who endured, Rebekah, the mother who believed, Naomi, a mother-in-law who shared her faith, and Hannah, the mother who kept her promise. I encourage you this Mother’s Day to read about these women. I have been blessed with many Godly women in my life, who all taught me how to be a mother. My first memories are of my Grandma Blanche and my Grandma Minnie. They were both conservative women in their lifestyles and in their thinking. One gave birth 13 times and the other only twice. The mother of 13 lived a humble life that required her to work really hard and to make many sacrifices for her children. She was a little bitty thing that weighed in at 100 lbs. and was 4’9” and wore a size 4 ½ shoe. I am amazed that she could carry those babies in that little frame. Her first daughter was my amazing mother. My beautiful Arene was 5’2”, 100 lbs. and had beautiful blue eyes. The greatest mother ever, in my eyes. Now I know most people think they had the greatest mother also. I guess we should just say, “I had ONE of the greatest mothers”. My mother was a very Godly woman, and she knew her Bible inside and out. I spent my growing up years sitting next to her with her Bible in her lap as she taught me to love Jesus. My mother went through life as a “caregiver” for us three kids and all of her big family. She always wished she had been a nurse and I know that was her true calling. She certainly did it, she just didn’t receive a paycheck for it. She taught us three kids to love Jesus and she was the best at unconditional love. I have family members who say they always felt accepted by Aunt Arene and that she loved them unconditionally. One said that no matter what she did, my mother would say, “Now, now, don’t be so hard on yourself”. I watched my mother sacrifice so much for the good of others. She always gave and gave of her time and her possessions. We all learned to stop complimenting her because she would ask, “Would You Like It?” She really had no problem giving you “the shirt off her back”. She had the ability to “turn a little into a lot” and that is a good trait. George Ross spoke in an earlier devotion about his grandmother and how she carried her woundedness and how she let God heal her. My mother definitely had her wounds, and she also took all her worries to God and allowed Him to heal her heart. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain”. 2 Corinthians 1:4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” My mother used her past pain and recovery to comfort those in trouble. I watched her show compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love to so many. My mother always taught me, “Take the High Road”, you never go wrong with being the bigger person in hurtful situations. I have learned from some great mentors that whatever I am doing I need to remember that others are watching from the sidelines. People watch Christians to see how we react and respond to those who hurt us. Our reaction can either be a positive or a negative for others watching. We need to strive to not be a stumbling block for others, so they grow in their faith. I recognize that Mothers’ Day can be a hurtful day for some. It can stir up a lot of negative emotions, from mothers who have lost children, for children who have lost their mothers, for those struggling with infertility, for those who have not had a good mother in their life, and for those who never knew their mother. The list goes on and on for reasons that this day can cause sadness. Grief comes in many forms and for many reasons. It is our honor to remember our great mothers, but it is also a time for us to show compassion and understanding to those who are not celebrating the day. Maybe this is the year that you can think of another person, who may need a special call or a note to let them know you are thinking of them. Maybe you are the one, without a mother this year. Maybe this is the year that you step out and find someone who needs you to make them feel loved. It is easy to mail a card, drop off a treat, ask them to your home for a meal, ask them to join you in church, or ask them out to lunch. This list goes on and on for serving others in their needs. So as I approach Mothers’ Day 2025, I will reflect on the Godly women that have walked before me and have helped me into being the mother I am today. I am grateful and blessed to have had grandmothers, aunts, a sister, my mother, my mother-in-law, and many wonderful friends who have set the bar really high for me to follow. As George in one of his earlier devotionals from Hebrews 12 calls them “MY Earthly Crowd”. I want to make the most of my remaining days as I do my best to “Finish Well”. Maybe we should pray and ask God to help us find others that need help in “finishing well” also. Thank you, God, for all the amazing and Godly women that you put in my path. Those who have shaped me into being who You want me to be. On this earth, we should do things with the right motive that are pleasing to God, to bring glory to Him and that those things will have eternal significance. ”All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” --Abraham Lincoln— HAPPY HEAVENLY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM…..AND I WILL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE!
|
