My Mother

My Mother

“10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

Proverbs 31:10-31(KJV)

Intro: On Mother’s Day, many children will try to do something special for their mom’s

like give them a personal letter to express their love. Angie, 8 years old, wrote: "Dear Mother, I’m going to make dinner for you on Mother’s Day. It’s going to be a surprise. P.S. I hope you like popcorn."

Robert’s card said: "I got you a turtle for Mother’s Day. I hope you like it better than the snake I got you last year."

Eileen said: "Dear Mother, I wish Mother’s Day wasn’t always on Sunday. It would be better if it were on Monday so we wouldn’t have to go to school."

Little Diane wrote: "I hope you like the flowers I got you for Mother’s Day.

I picked them myself when our neighbor Mr. Smith wasn’t looking."

And then there’s this one from Cindy: "Dear Mother, here are two aspirins. Have a happy Mother’s Day!"

Each of these children appreciated their mother.

While their gifts weren’t exactly perfect,

they were trying, in their own way, to show their mother how much they loved her.

Here in Proverbs 31, we have a King who is trying to do the same thing.

Most of the time, when someone preaches on Proverbs 31…

they’ll skip over the first few verses like I did this morning.

They’ll read Proverbs 31:10 “10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

This famous section of Proverbs (that tells us about Godly mothers) actually starts with King Lemuel

repeating phrases of advice from his mother to him

* He was reciting the counsel that she had given to him when he was younger.

* He was repeating the things she felt he needed to know to be a good man.

It was her “burden” for him. She cared about how he lived his life.

She might have told him a few other things as he grew up, like…

• sit up straight

• brush your teeth

• eat your vegetables

• clean your room

BUT those didn’t make it into the bible.

Then King Lemuel goes on to describe what a noble/virtuous woman looks like,

and if you didn’t get it he is talking about his own mother.

No person is ever poor who has a loving mother.

My Mother Beatrice Irene Lee was born September 26th, 1927.

She was an amazing person.

She only went to the 8th grade, except to later get her G.E.D. as an adult.

She was a homemaker in the truest since.

She was a housewife.

She managed the home.

Not only did she help my five half brothers and sisters but she also raised seven children of her own.

She never traveled outside of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.

Yet she knew things about places around the world

because she had traveled there herself through the portal of reading.

Her reading educated her about facts and information

about people and places and things that I only learned about when in college.