Mother’s Day 2006: A Testimony Of Faith
Scriptures: Proverbs 31:10-31
Introduction:
Almost 90 years ago, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established the day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country. All of us are products of a mother. Everything that you needed to know, somewhere along the line, a mom probably taught you most of it. Two years ago I preached a Mother’s day sermon in which I talked about some of the things we have learned from our mothers. I even asked some of you to submit some of the things you had learned. Here are a few of the lessons that I gathered for that sermon:
Logic: She asked, “If everyone else jumps off the cliff are you going to jump too?
To Cook: “If you’re hungry, go in the kitchen and fix you something, there is no maid in this house.”
Wisdom that comes with Age: “Keep on living, you’ll see, you’ll understand.”
Medicine: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they will freeze that way.”
Humor: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.
Justice: “One day you will have kids and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you will see what it’s like. I can’t wait!”
Recipes: “A hard head makes a soft behind.”
Our true roots: “I am not your friend’s mother, I am your mother.”
These are some of the lessons that have been taught through the years by some very loving and God-fearing mothers that ever walked the earth. And even though most of us have had the experience of being around some good mothers, we sometimes have forgotten just how blessed we are. Some of you may know that I love to read the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. For those of you not familiar with this comic, Calvin is a seven year (Dennis the Menace) and Hobbes is his stuffed tiger that is actually alive to him. Anyway, in one of the stories on a Mother’s Day, Calvin is standing by his mother’s bed when he says “Hey, Mom! Wake up. I made you a Mother’s Day card.” His mother was very please and started to read the card out loud as Calvin stood there smiling being very proud of what he had written. Some of you may recall this from my previous sermon, but I want to share it with you again. This is what the card said:
“I was going to buy a card with hearts of pink and red.
But then I thought I’d rather, spend the money on me instead.
It’s awfully hard to buy things when one’s allowance is so small.
So I guess you’re plenty lucky I got you anything at all.
Happy Mother’s Day. There, I’ve said it, now I am done.
So how about getting out of bed and fixing breakfast for your son.”
Calvin had the right idea in his decision to give her a card, but being true to form, his natural instinct to be self absorbed took over and the results ended in what was written in the card. So may times we are like Calvin, so self absorbed that we cannot appreciate others, especially our mothers who made (continues to make) sacrifices for us daily. This morning I want to tell you about my two adopted grandmothers who bless me every time I am in their presence. Both of these ladies have taken me in as if I was their own blood. I cannot talk about one without the other because they both fit the description of a good woman as described in Proverbs 31. One of the grandmothers is ninety and the other is eighty-nine years old; both in fairly good health considering their age. But, before I tell you about them, I want to read a few verses from Proverbs 31 where he speaks of a good woman.
"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain." Verses 10-11
"She rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and makes her arm strong. She senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night." Verses 15-18
"She extends her hand to the poor; and stretches out her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet." Verses 20-21
"Strength and dignity are her clothing and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth is wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also and he praises her…" Verses 25-28
I. My Ninety-Year Old Grandmother Annie Mae
I first saw this woman when I was in elementary school as she was the school patrol lady who made sure we did not get run over. All of us kids knew that we did not mess with the lady with the "Stop" sign because she did not care who you were, she’d get you if you stepped out of line. I do not remember ever having a conversation with her during this time or even knowing her name, but I knew not to mess with her. My first real interaction with her happened when I was nineteen years old and I started dating her granddaughter. Now understand, this woman noticed things, she sees things with an evaluative eye. Now when I was growing up, I often wore shoes that were too big for my feet. My shoes were purchased that way so that I could wear them longer as my feet were still growing. One of my early interactions with my ninety-year old grandmother centered on her looking at the large shoes that I had on and her commenting on how large the shoes made my feet look. These shoes were dress shoes and they did make my feet look big. She suggested "nicely" that I needed to buy some new shoes and she recommended the Stacey Adams brand shoes because they looked good and they would make my feet look smaller. It took me a while before I could afford to get a pair, but eventually I started wearing those shoes and they did make my feet look smaller. One Sunday I had my Stacey Adams on and was at her home for Sunday dinner. She looked down at my feet and in her quiet way said "Nice shoes, they look good on your feet." She never said anything else. Since that time she has called me "foots." When she asks about me, she always says "How’s foots doing?" She has been calling me "foots" for 25 years and she is the only one allowed to call me that.
One of the most endearing memories that I have of this woman was the day my mother died twenty years ago. I arrived on her doorstep crying for I had no where else to go. She opened the door, saw how bad I looked, and immediately grabbed me and just stood there hugging me while I cried. She took me to one of her bedrooms and laid me down on the bed and just sat with me. On that particular day, she gave me what I needed and I was able to go home and help my father make the arrangements for my mother’s funeral. The verses I read in Proverbs 31 are talking about my ninety-year old grandmother. She is one of those grandmothers who have more adult grandchildren that never came from her blood line. If you ever met her and spent some time with her, she would claim you as her own and would do anything she could for you. She always has a word of wisdom for the young and the old. She is a strong woman. Although she only completed school through the 5th grade, she taught herself and made sure that her kids got an education. She is an expert seamstress and cook having taught herself. She passed these skills on to her daughter and grand-daughters. Through the years she has unselfishly given to anyone in need while making sacrifices for her family to ensure that their needs were met. I have seen her reach out to the poor and anyone else who was hurting. To this day, although she does not get around like she used to, she is constantly asking about others and often seem surprised when others are checking in on her.
My ninety-year old grandmother loves God. We both share a love for gospel music and a good sermon. She is one of the mothers of the Church whom no one would dare think of disrespecting. She is one of the "old school" mothers who understood what Paul meant when he stated that the older women should be training the younger women. She is a very special woman and my life has been changed having known and spent some quality time with her.
II. My Eighty-Nine Year Old Grandmother Beatrice
My eighty-nine year old grandmother I met the same year as my other grandmother. This woman is a very special woman also. Because of her family situation and the times, this woman never learned to read or write, things we all take for granted. She worked hard all of her life providing for her families and God truly blessed her. This woman was still climbing trees and trimming them when she was in her seventies. She was mowing her own yard well into her eighties. When you read the verses in Proverbs where the writer talks about the woman rising early to feed her family, he was talking about this woman. This woman also loves God and credits Him with everything she has and everything that has been accomplished in her life. She is not ashamed to testify about the goodness of God, even when her own body is in pain. When she takes toll of her life, she tells everyone that through everything, God was with her.
I had the opportunity to spend some time with her recently; it had been a while since I had last seen her. After she gave me a hug she reminded me that it had been a while since I had been there, quietly letting me know that I needed to do better. In the conversation that I had with her, she said some things that really made me think. She told me about how she felt about not being able to read and write and not being able to help her children with their homework. She was not ashamed about what she was telling me, she was testifying of the goodness of God. She said that she would constantly pray that although she could not help her kids with their homework, that help would be available whenever the kids needed it. She would make sure that her kids received the education that she was not able to get. Through her prayers and her steadfast dedication to her family, her kids did receive the education she did not receive and her grandchildren have gone on even further. Her grandchildren have attended college and she has lived to see several of her great-grandchildren graduate from high school.
If you were to engage her in a conversation, she would tell you that she has not had an easy life, but she has had a blessed life. She did not have the most, but God met and continues to meet her every need. She has great faith in God, that regardless of her needs, He is well able to meet them. One of the last things she said to me was that she still tithes. She said that she gives God His first. This woman, who is now retired, drawing a very small amount monthly, still gives ten percent to God. She does it from her heart because of her love for God and because He had proven Himself to her. She is a living testimony of God’s goodness.
Conclusion
You may be wondering why I chose to speak on these two women this morning. These two ladies never achieved what some people would describe as major success in their lives. They never got the opportunity to do what some of you mothers are doing today. They are not rich and they do not have large bank accounts that would allow them to spend money without considering their budget. By the world’s standard, they are just elderly women who have lived a good life. But let me share this one last fact from Proverbs. Look at Proverbs 31:31.
"Give her the product of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates."
Their works as women of God, mothers and grand-mothers, wives and friends, sisters and co-workers will praise them in the gates. In Proverbs it was speaking of the gates of the city, but I am talking about the gates of heaven. You see, what they may not have by the world’s standard, they have by God’s. When they meet God face to face, they will leave behind something more valuable than money, more valuable than houses, cars or even stocks. They will leave behind people who were touched by their lives. They will leave behind people who will remember what they were taught by these women. In their lessons, their lives will go on. When they arrive in heaven, God will surely welcome them with open arms because of who they are and the fact that their faith in Him never wavered. They have sown good seeds and will reap a plentiful harvest again in heaven. They have seen part of it in the lives of their children and grandchildren, but the best is yet to come.
Mothers, what will be your testimony when you leave here? Have you touched another life? What will your children say about you when you are no longer here? What seeds are you currently sowing that will take root and produce fruit in the years to come? Are you a mother to just your children or are you a mother to many children? On this yet another Mother’s Day, I ask you to consider the importance of the role that you play. You have a job that no one can fulfill, are you living up to it. God has placed within you the seed of life, first in the child that you bring forth and second in the motherly wisdom that He has placed within you to raise that child. What are you doing with the seeds that He has placed within you? Where are you planting them?
I have been blessed to have several mothers. My mother and my grandmothers were great women, in my eyes. Although I did not have them as long as I would have liked, because of the seeds that they sown, they continue to live within me and my family. When they went to be with God, God gave me another mother in the form of my mother-in-law and two more grandmothers whom I cannot love more. I have been very blessed to have always had strong women in my life and I was extremely blessed to have married one. I hope and pray that each of you who are hearing or reading this now will be one of those mothers. I will conclude with these words from John Stiles:
“I have worshipped in churches and chapels. I have prayed in the busy streets.
I have sought my God and have found Him, in the waves of His ocean beat.
I have knelt in the silent forest, in the shade of some ancient tree.
But the dearest of all my altars was at my mother’s knee.
God makes me the man of her vision and purge me of selfishness.
God keep me true to her standards and help me to live to bless.
God hallow the holy impress of the days that used to be
And keep me a pilgrim forever to the shrine at my mother’s knee.”
May God forever bless and keep each of you mothers as you fulfill the ultimate callings of motherhood. Happy Mother’s Day.
