“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” – Proverbs 31:30-31
What an incredible verse to describe a good woman, one who deserves to be honored by her family and praised in the city gate. Since Mother’s Day was Sunday, we wanted to take a few minutes to list a few ways our mother was so incredible to us.
Mom was always present with us – she was “all there” every time we were around.
This is a big one today, because technology (especially social media) can pull moms away from spending dedicated time with kids. Our mom never let distractions get in the way of her grandchildren and us. She loved keeping up with people on social media, but the minute she was around any of us, her phone was down and she was completely present. We all knew she was listening and she cared.
Mom made family her No. 1 agenda.
We never questioned the fact that when it came to our family and the home, Mom was in charge and completely focused. She didn’t let little things go unnoticed, because she was “on it,” refusing to neglect our hearts and the demands of the house. Even when she worked at a nursing home to help Dad financially when he started the church, we knew family, and not her job, was No. 1. She made this abundantly clear to us with her actions.
Mom was faithful and loving to Dad.
To this day, we still don’t know how she did it. Ha-ha! But seriously, mom had plenty of reasons to get bitter or upset at different times (as do all moms), but she refused to be unloving toward Dad and bring drama into our home. Her willingness to “not sweat the small stuff” brought stability and calmness when we needed it the most. Now that we’re married, we know how truly hard this is – so we thank God she chose to take the high road and walk in love.
Mom was always available and never made us feel we were inconvenient.
We can’t think of a time when Mom wasn’t there when we needed her – even during the most inconvenient times for her to be needed. Whether she just settled in for a nap or was sitting down for dinner, Mom was always ready to spring into action when needs arose. And she never made us feel like we were inconveniencing her, because in her mind we truly weren’t – we were her No. 1 priority. So she actually made us feel like she loved helping us, which she did. Again, now that we’re parents, we know how truly difficult this is.
Mom was very hospitable.
Our home had a revolving door, the kitchen was bustling continuously and the lights were on most of the time. Dad was in ministry, so family after family came over to visit – and, like clockwork, Mom would whip up whatever she could to make them feel at home, even when she didn’t have a lot to work with. She loved having people over, and she wasn’t afraid to step out and invite people she didn’t know to eat lunch with us. And we can’t even begin to talk about how many sweaty high-school boys she fed after football and basketball games.
Mom died well.
She refused morphine up to her last breath on Oct. 11, 2017. She was “all there” for her family in the hospital room as we gathered around her bed and sang some of her favorite hymns. She fought fiercely to stay with us, but the Lord took her home to be with Him.
During the final days of her life, she was funny and took time to say important things to her grandchildren. I (David) still remember how Jason’s daughter, Allie, was putting a blanket over mom when she looked at Allie and gave her such warm encouragement about the kind of young lady she was growing up to be. It was hard for her to breathe, but she found the strength to encourage her granddaughter. What a woman.
We honor and praise the Lord for the Mom He gave us, and we pray her life ministers to you through this short little list we wrote.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!
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