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Woo hoo, school is out for summer! I know some schools finished this week, and some are closing it out next week. However, I am lucky, and we finished at the end of last week. So, with a little more time on my hands, maybe I can get this out before the last day of the month.
That works out well, as I have been thinking about this blog since Mother’s Day. As I sat in church on May 14, I listened as the pastor said that without women who love God, the fabric of our society would fall apart. As I heard these words, I let them sink in and then really reflected on them. Heck, I’ve been thinking about them since.
The fabric of society…that’s a big thing to say, but not when you really think about it. How many of you reading this have had a woman at one time or another be the key to leading you spiritually, getting you back on track with God, or just plain praying for you day and night? I know this has certainly been the case with me.
Going on different retreats for school, I have heard the spiritual impact grandparents have had on many kids today. There is no doubt that God uses them in such a profound way, and my grandma was no different. When I was just a wee buck, my Grandma Huber really turned her life over to Christ. Now truth be told, I have always idolized the woman! My daughter’s middle name is hers because of how much she meant to me…Darby Alice.
For me as an impressionable child to see my grandmother follow Jesus with such commitment made a huge difference in my life then, and certainly on into the future. When I think of her (which still happens frequently), I know she is looking down on me from up above, and I know I wouldn’t be the man I am today without that wonderful lady showing me the foundation on which to build my life.
God didn’t only use my grandmother, but he also used all of the women in my life that I call mom in some way or another to impact me for Him. First and foremost was my mom, Lois. If you know me, you know my mom and I didn’t always see eye to eye. Mom and Dad were divorced, and as a teenager that can put strains on relationships, especially parental relationships.
It wasn’t until I became an adult with a family of my own that my mom had a profound influence on me spiritually. I remember watching as my mom, riddled with arthritis, wrote letter after letter to share God’s message of hope and love. She called it her letter writing ministry. Mom sent long uplifting notes to people she knew well, people that God had just placed in her path, people in prison, friends of friends – it really didn’t matter. If she felt God was at work, she’d write a letter.
Mom fought through her pain to do God’s work. This commitment of hers is something I think of when I feel I just don’t have time to write this blog, or I’m too stressed to work on my presentation for a retreat. Those are excuses that keep me from doing what the Lord wants. My mom had commitment to do His work even through miserable pain, so I’d better as well. No excuses – God will make a way, just like He did for my mom.
Another mom who has helped shape me spiritually is my stepmom Becki. First and foremost, God placed a woman in my dad’s life who would become like my mom, even though I wasn’t technically hers. The love lavished upon my sister and me from this great woman can only come from God, and I thank Him for that.
In addition, my stepmom has always been a part of churches and their music ministries. Many moons ago she was running the youth choir at a church in Florissant and invited me to come up. I did, and it was there that I met my future wife, the woman in my life who has had the biggest spiritual impact on me, but more on her later. This is a tribute to my stepmom and the way she has followed the Lord and the example she has set for both her biological children and her stepchildren. Like the title says, thank you is not enough.
Certainly thanks can’t sum up what my mother-in-law Sue has done for me. She has always tried to follow God’s blueprint for her life. As I began to show up at her house because of her daughter, she took me in as one of her own. She not only loved me as a son, but also modeled for me what a family should be. I’m not ripping on my own family, but my home was broken at a young age, and I believe God wanted me to see this model to help prepare me for my own family. However, that isn’t the greatest thing she did.
I don’t know if there is a prayer warrior anywhere in the world like my mother-in-law. God tells us in His word to pray without ceasing. My mama-in-law does this, and I know she has prayed for me since the moment I entered her daughter’s life. Where would I be without this constant prayer? I don’t know, but I’m glad I don’t have to find out.
Of course my mother-in-law also did something else. She gave birth to the woman whom God has used the most to impact my life. Many men can look at their wife and say that they wouldn’t be the man they are today without her. There is a reason they are called the better half. But beyond the norm, I know that spiritually, I wouldn’t be half the man I am today without Pam. God had a plan for me when He put this little woman in my life.
She has demonstrated to me, through a forgiving and all-encompassing love that only comes from above, how to live for Christ, inside our family and out. She has pushed me do be better, to step outside my comfort zone, and to use my talents for the Lord. She has prayed for me and with me on a regular basis. She has shown me a commitment that I needed to see as an adult, and she has challenged me in ways that only sharpen my own iron. Beyond that and most importantly, she has been my rock for 30 years – supporting me, encouraging me, and loving me like only someone who understands God’s love, grace and patience could do. Yeah, God knew the woman I would need in my life, and I thank Him often for her.
So as I thought about those words the pastor said, I knew that the fabric of my world would have definitely fallen apart without these outstanding women in my life loving God and loving me. I know Mother’s Day has come and gone, but this blog is a tribute to all of those women out there who love God, love their families, and don’t ignore God’s subtle nudges, all of which help keep the fabric of society from coming apart at the seams.
Perhaps you have a woman in your life that you should say thank you to even though those words aren’t enough. Maybe she showed you the love Christ’s own mother Mary modeled so incredibly, or she gave you sound advice like Deborah the judge. Perhaps she patiently waited for the world to change right alongside you like Abraham’s wife Sarah, or she just made Jesus more clear to you like Priscilla.
You don’t have to write a blog about her, you don’t have to buy her flowers (although that’s always nice), nor do you have to come up with any elaborate scheme…just tell her in one way or another. Whatever she did, let her know today; don’t wait until next Mother’s Day or some other important day. Let her know now, as I’m sure it will mean the world to her.
If you enjoyed reading this blog and feel so inclined, please subscribe below and maybe even share this with that woman who has meant so much to your walk with the Lord. Until next month, have a great start to your summer.
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
I always enjoy your blog each month. This month’s topic about women who influenced your walk with the Lord really hit home for me. The women in my life from my Nana to my daughters have let me see God working in their lives to make my world a better place to be. Thank you is not enough but its a start .
Thank you so much!