Abraham Lincoln said it well. “No man is poor who has a godly mother.”
Those of us who had godly mothers should praise God for them, and honor them by living out those things that they taught us. We could call them “Mother’s Laws,” as referred to in Proverbs 6:20. “. . . forsake not the law of thy mother.”
David C. Egner wrote about his mother’s laws. He calls the first one “the law of the warm kitchen.” He says when he got home from school on cold days, their kitchen was always warm from baking and from his mother’s love.
Egner’s second law from his mother was “the law of a mother’s perspective.” When he was upset, he tells us that his mother would say, “Pay no attention. Ten years from now you’ll have forgotten all about it.”
Above all, Egner says, was his mother’s “law of faith.” Her trust in God kept her strong and gentle “amid the fears,
pressures, and trying times that we faced as a family.”
After reading Egner’s article, I tried to come up with my mother’s law. In no time at all, I had it. “The law of work.” Mom believed in a good day’s work as a panacea for every-thing. She counted on the promise from Proverbs 12:14 that says “the work of a man’s hands rewards him.”
Low self-esteem? Work hard and you can feel good about yourself because you did a good job.
Apt to get into trouble riding around with friends at night? Work hard all day and you’re too tired to go out because you’re longing for a place to rest.
Can’t sleep at night? Work hard all day and you’ll have no problem falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.
Mother’s Day is celebrated today across America, but not all mothers appreciate it. Years ago Newsweek magazine said that Barbara Bush does not like it because it has become too commercial and is now “a big ripoff.” Most mothers would agree that they would rather be honored and respected all year in their children’s lives than to receive expensive gifts on one day. Like Mrs. Bush, I am thankful that my children are “really good grown- ups.” Our neighbor in Tennessee who had also adopted two children often said our children would turn out all right “in spite of the things we do.” Thank God she was right!
I would never win the “mother of the year” award, yet I have tried to love and protect my family and keep a watch over them. Early on, I gave them over to the Lord, and He has blessed all of us.
If my children come up with some “Mother’s Laws,” I hope that they will be positive ones that helped them through difficult days. I pray they are worth remembering, and that they reflect a godly mother’s concerns.
A poet named Simpson wrote these lines:
I love you, Mother, for your quiet grace,
For that dear smile upon your kindly face,
For marks of toil upon each loving hand
That worked for me before I could understand.
Often, we do not understand the laws of our mothers until we are grown and have children of our own. For me, that quiet grace, that sweet smile, and those loving hands have made indelible impressions on my personal expressions.