A Mother's Love

Church Family:
What could be important than God's work through motherhood forming a human soul? Mom's form a child's spirituality, morality, identity and worldview. God does an amazing beautiful work through moms. I want to share with you a description of a mother's love that I read this week that communicates the love I see in the moms of GCT, especially the moms of adult children. This was written in the late 1800's by a Presbyterian pastor, DeWitt Talmage. I hope that this encourages you as a mom or as a child of a mom.

"There is no emotion so completely unselfish as maternal affection. Conjugal love expects the return of many kindnesses and attentions. Filial love expects parental care, or is helped by the memory of past watchfulness. But the strength of a mother’s love is entirely independent of the past and the future, and is, of all emotions, the purest. The child has done nothing in the past to earn kindness, and in the future it may grow up to maltreat its parent; but still from the mother’s heart there goes forth inconsumable affection.
Abuse cannot offend it;
Neglect cannot chill it;
Time cannot efface it;
Death cannot destroy it.
For harsh words it has gentle chiding;
For the blow it has beneficent ministry;
For neglect it has increasing watchfulness.
It weeps at the prison door over the incarcerated prodigal, and pleads for pardon at the Governor’s feet, and is forced away by compassionate friends from witnessing the struggles of the gallows.
Other lights go out, but this burns on without extinguishment, as in a gloom-struck night you may see a single star, one of God’s pickets, with gleaming bayonet of light guarding the outposts of heaven.
Oh, despise not a mother’s love. If heretofore you have been negligent of such a one, and you have still opportunity for reparation, make haste. If you could only just look in for an hour’s visit to her you would rouse up in the aged one a whole world of blissful memories."

But what if your heart aches on Mother's Day in the midst of grief and disappointment? Maybe life has turned out differently than you expected? How will you invite God into your disappointment and pain in motherhood? How will you seek the Lord and rest in Him?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

If Mother's Day is difficult for you, one way you can find rest in Christ is to look to who God has put into your life as surrogate mothers, giving life not just physically but also spiritually. Pursue other woman who nurture you spiritually and let them know that is what you need. But don’t stop there, turn, and do the same to others. Nurture spiritual life in other young women. Serve other moms who need encouragement and help. Everybody’s story and experience with their Mom or motherhood are different so that each of us can be used by God to meet specific, everyday, tangible needs in the Kingdom of God. Being a mom is not just about giving life physically but also spiritually. Thank you moms! You are doing an amazing job! Thank you God for making moms!

See You Sunday, thanking God for Mom: Steve