May 12, 2024
Mother’s Day
How do you express love for the woman who gave you life? Mothers not only labored in giving birth, but for years loved, taught, trained and nourished their child. I’ve never been a mother. I have never given birth to a child. So, from an experiential point of view I cannot write about mothers.
From observation I can. I had decades of one-on-one observation of one mother. She was my mother. Nina Bell King Hartman. My mother was not perfect, like all other mothers, raising children was an experiment. She discovered that her three children were different. Each one had different flaws and ideas, and God given talents. More important than any thing else, she was a Christian who loved her God.
I’ve looked through the Bible to study the lives of mothers. There are several of them to observe. Beginning with Eve, “The Mother of All the Living.” Ending with Mary “The Mother of Jesus.” I found none of them to be perfect.
Proverbs 31:21–30 (NKJV)
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
I read these verses and find as close to a perfect mother as can be found in the Bible. None were perfect. My mother was not perfect but she took care of her family while working a full time job. We never left the house without being fed breakfast, and when we did leave the house we were dressed properly and ready to face the day. We ended each day with the Bible and praying.
What was the most important thing my mother instilled in me? A love for Jesus Christ and the church for which He died. I could write a book on mothers. I do not have the time or space to do so in this devotion.
I want mothers to know how important you are! I know I can owe my Christian faith to a mother who worked hard in raising her children. (My father for the first 13 years of my life was gone most of the time serving his country in the military.) Her love for Jesus and her family were instilled in me. The most important thing my mother gave to me was an eternal inheritance in Heaven with her and my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.