MOTHERING

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.  Isaiah 66:13

 

Can you imagine anything better than a mother’s love?  I admit, I could never have competed with either my daughter or daughter-in-law in discerning the unique gifts and personalities they nurture on a daily basis.  And then there’s the topic of energy…

Today marked the mid-point of Camp Curry.  I’ve often remarked that the miracle of Sarah and Abraham was not their producing Isaac, but it was their ability to keep up with him.  Or perhaps that’s what their household staff did.

Today’s parents, and especially the mothers who nurture the children while running the household and managing a career, are amazing.  They are routinely dealing with higher expectations than my generation experienced, and their children have greater temptations, information, and challenges than ours ever did.

As the crust of the earth was cooling, I remember my grandmother talking about doing the laundry one day, ironing another, baking took another whole day (Does anyone do that anymore?), mending was part of the schedule, and then there were grocery shopping and cleaning.  Between my daughter and daughter-in-law, each week they do most of the above PLUS gardening, chauffeuring children to school and extracurricular events, running a successful home business besides a full-time job, and participating in a lively social calendar.  They are not unlike other mothers today.

So what’s my point?  Having been with my precious grandchildren this week and getting ready to let them go back home, I am more strongly reminded of the need for prayer for our young family members and particularly the young mothers:  that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Neh. 8:10); that they will look to him for encouragement (Isa. 41:10); that they will always experience God’s presence (Deut. 31:6); that they will know they are greatly loved by God (Romans 8:37-39); and that he will supply every need they have (Phil. 4:19).  AND that they will delight in being stewards of the precious treasures with which God has entrusted them.

I will miss the sweet grands, but they will be returning to the place where they belong and where they will be loved and shaped into the image God planned from the beginning of time.  And I will be here praying for them all, loving them, and waiting for the next visit.

 

Father, thank you for the special times I have with all my sweet grandbabies.  Be with my friends who spend long seasons apart from their families and give them opportunities to bless those other children you’ve brought into their lives.  Make us your hands and feet as we love and touch those you’ve entrusted to us.  Keep their parents in you, and help us never to cease praying for them.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

OOPS

…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.  Luke 6:38

 

My friend David told me a story about a village that had just experienced a record crop of grapes, and all the villagers agreed to come together for a regional celebration of thanksgiving.  The mayor requested everyone to bring a barrel of their very best wine; each one would pour his contribution into a large vat.

The day and time of the festival was announced, and people came from far and wide to join in the happiness of the tiny village.  The head of each family brought his keg, climbed the small ladder, and poured his wine into the community receptacle while the people below cheered and clapped.  The next person came, climbed the ladder, and added his barrel of wine.  And so on it went.  Person after person climbed the ladder and accepted the applause as he emptied his barrel.

One of the villagers, a rather parsimonious fellow, thought to himself that he would fill his barrel with water and empty it without anyone’s knowing that he had withheld his family’s bounty.  He, too, was cheered and applauded as he emptied his barrel and made his way down the ladder.

The big moment of the festival arrived.  All the neighboring villagers crowded around with their tankards looking forward to tasting the delicious fruit of the year’s labor.  The mayor put the first mug under the spigot and opened the tap.  And to the shame of all the villagers, the liquid flowed clear.  Everyone had selfishly filled their kegs with water and saved the good wine for themselves.

David and I had been talking about stewardship and the joy of giving—that Jesus said it was more blessed to give than to receive.  Paul went on to say that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (II Cor. 9:6).

There’s an old saying I heard a lot growing up, What goes ‘round comes ‘round.  I suspect that’s what happened with that stingy little village.  Not only did they miss out on the joy of giving, but they embarrassed themselves in front of the whole region.

 

Lord, we hear and read with joy stories of great generosity and the blessing it brings.  Give us hearts that love to give so that we might bless others and bring glory to your name, the one who gave all.  AMEN.