My mother, Laurie, holding my daughter, Amelia.
“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Thankfulness is always found in the heart of the true worshipper. How can we not be thankful when, knowing ourselves, we behold the glory of the Lord through the person and work of Jesus? Every moment of our earthly lives we receive from the Lord grace upon grace. Let us give thanks to him! Since it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, I thought it would be appropriate to give thanks to the Lord for our moms. I’ll briefly tell you about mine.
Many of you know me as the guy that plays the guitar. But did you know who taught me my first chords? Mom. Yep. She sat down and showed me how to put a chord progression together and sing a song. Both of my parents loved singing to the Lord. I say to the Lord because they really never sang anything except songs of praise. Not out of any sense of duty or misplaced moralism. They just loved (and still do) singing to the Lord with the church.
My mom was a stay at home mom and a believer long before I was ever born. Having that kind of daily faithful, faith-filled influence is something I am frequently overwhelmed with thanksgiving for. My mom has always been quick to turn to the Lord in prayer in any situation. I was frequently afraid as a child, for no particular reason, but this terrible anxiety and fear would come on me, and my mom- oh my precious mother!- would come and pray for me. She would tell me to think about Jesus and nothing else. She would tell me how when she was afraid she would just say Jesus’s name over and over just to keep thinking about him. And sometimes she’d sing or hum a familiar hymn (my wife does this for our daughter and it makes my heart melt). There is a simplicity to my mother’s faith that just beckons you to be near to the Lord and trust him.
I am amazed at God’s grace in my life to have a mother who raised me in the way I should go. I am so thankful that God didn’t leave me in my anxieties and fears but provided his tender love for me through my mom, drawing me near to himself to find peace and rest.
As we all reflect this week on the women who raised us, my hope is that we can all find ourselves giving thanks and praise to the Lord. Even if you didn’t grow up in a Christian family, God’s grace was at work in you through your mother (or whoever filled the position) to teach you and grow you to a great extent to where you are today.
IAN WEBSTER
If you have any questions about the topic of worship or would like to learn how to get involved with the worship ministry of North Avenue Church you can email Ian at websterian11@gmail.com.