This message was delivered on Mother’s Day by Pastor Squires wife, Danice.
Welcome 2 Groups
1. I want to welcome home our military families! If there is anyone here from the Abraham Lincoln, would you please stand?
2. I also want to welcome our new Moms! If this is your first Mother’s Day, please stand.
Bathroom Door
Happy Mother’s Day! I want to read something to you this Mother’s Day. This is a sign posted on the door of a mother’s bathroom.
Attention Everyone: The Bathroom Door is Closed!
Please do not stand there and talk, whine or ask questions.
Wait until I get out.
Yes, it is locked. I want it that way.
No, it is not broken; I am not trapped.
I know I have left it unlocked and even open at times since you were born,
Because I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in there.
But it’s been ten years, and I want some privacy.
Do not ask me how long I will be.
I will come out when I am done.
Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.
Do not go running back to the phone yelling, “She’s in the bathroom!”
Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.
Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them.
This was funny only when you were two.
Do not slide pennies, Legos, or notes under the door,
Even when you were two this got a little tiresome.
If you have followed me down the hall talking,
And are still talking as you face this closed door,
Please turn around, walk away and wait for me in another room.
I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.
Oh…and yes, I still love you. Mom
(Espresso for a Woman’s Spirit by Pam Vredevelt)
How many of you mothers know what this is talking about? How many of you want this sign on your bathroom door? I need one.
Genesis!
Genesis 29 introduces one of my favorite mothers in the Bible - Leah. She is an interesting woman. Her life is laid out in Scripture for all to read, with all her imperfections and attempts to find her place and her purpose.
“Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. 18Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” (Genesis 29:16-18)
The Bible says Leah’s eyes were weak, which could mean poor eyesight or no sparkle in her eyes, no real attractiveness.
Her sister, Rachel, on the other hand is beautiful.
Jacob falls in love with Rachel. He works seven years to earn her hand in marriage. They have a wonderful wedding ceremony and a wonderful honeymoon night. But he wakes up in the morning and surprise! Who’s in bed with him? It’s true! Look at verse 25—it’s so funny!
Ladies, you don’t need to watch soap operas. Just read Genesis! Here you have one man, two wives, two maids, and all together they have 12 sons. (This is where the 12 tribes of Israel came from).
You don’t need to buy any of those ridiculous romance novels. Just read Genesis!
So here is Jacob, the deceiver. Remember he’s the one who sowed seeds of deception when he tricked his brother out of his birthright. Now he reaps this harvest of deception by his new father-in-law.
Laban says, “Well, next week you can have Rachel too. But you will have to work another seven years for me.” And he does.
So here is Leah. Her father tricked Jacob into marrying her. She knows that he loves Rachel. But she is caught in this marriage.
Verse 30 – “Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.” In fact, he dislikes Leah.
Verse 31 – this word implies hatred. It should read, “When the Lord saw that Leah was hated…”
The Crush
Have you ever loved someone who did not love you back? I loved a guy in high school more than anything. He was so cute; SO cute. I watched him all the time. I memorized everything about him. I would even call his house and hang up just to hear his voice. (We didn’t have *69 back then).
I loved him. But did he ever love me back? No way. Did he even now I was alive?
Day and day, week after week my love for him went unnoticed and unreturned.
Thank goodness. At my 20-year reunion a few years ago I found out he was in jail!
Married to Jacob
In Genesis 29, we find a woman who loved someone but was not loved in return. We find a mother in an unfair situation, trapped in a marriage without love. She looks for purpose and affirmation in her children. She desperately seeks love and praise from her husband. We see this in the way she named her children.
Names in the Bible
In the Bible, especially the Old Testament, names were a big deal. The name of a person really identified them.
Abraham = father of many
Isaac = laughter
Esau = hairy (Hey Hairy, clean up your room….)
Jabez = pain
Names were a way to identify a person and the circumstances of his/her life.
A Mother’s desire for praise (Genesis 29:31-34)
Look at the names Leah chose for her children. She names her children based on the circumstances of her life.
Verse 32. Reuben = look, seen
“It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Leah was proud of this baby. He was the firstborn. He was the firstborn SON. That was a big deal, especially in this time and culture. She was sure this would elevate her position with her husband. She was sure he would love her now.
But that doesn’t seem to have happened.
Verse 33. Simeon = hear
“Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.”
Leah is aware of God’s kindness, that He would give her another son because her husband did not love her.
Verse 34. Levi = attached
“Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons.”
Leah is no longer asking for Jacob’s love as she did in verse 32. Now she settles for attachment. Surely at least my husband will feel somewhat connected to me.
What a sad story. What a sad attempt to gain the love and praise from her husband, trying to find value through her sons.
Same Story Today
You know what? It’s the same story today. I mean, you don’t see one man, two wives, and two maids very often. But you see broken families and painful situations. There are mothers today who find themselves in this kind of setting. Trying to get their husbands to love them. Trying to win the approval of others. Trying to find their identity in their children.
The problem is - our husbands and children were never designed to give us our purpose or affirmation. That was never God’s plan! They were never designed to completely fulfill us. Only God is! He defines who we are and loves us unconditionally.
Of course we want our husband to love us, of course. But our husband and children are not given to us to complete us. Only God makes us complete.
Even though today I am talking primarily about mothers, this lesson applies to all of us! This principle, this truth is for you. And God’s truth brings freedom.
We cannot look to the wrong source for our purpose, worth, for contentment. There is no other source but God!
Don’t Label Children
Just a side note for all parents: Be careful not to label your children. We may not do it as obviously as Leah did, but we have to be careful to not place our disappointments upon our children. We cannot label our kids or blame them for our own issues.
Don’t categorize them based on our need or our pain. Speak life to them. Speak truth to them.
“You are God’s gift to me.”
“You are God’s gift to this family. You are not here by accident.”
“You are my joy.”
“You will be a mighty man of God when you grow up.”
“You will do far greater things for God than I ever did.”
A Mother’s decision to praise the Lord (Genesis 29:35)
Back to our story - Leah’s desire was unmet. Her desire for love and praise from her husband only lead to disappointment. But in the middle of that disappointment, she made a decision to praise God.
Verse 35. Judah = praise
“This time I will praise the Lord.”
With the birth of her first 3 sons, her attention was on God, but it was always connected to her desire to be loved and praised by Jacob. But this time, there is nothing about Jacob. We see her full attention on God. This time is different.
She makes a decision to praise God. She seems to recognize that to be loved by God was a far greater thing than to be loved by man. I’m sure she still wanted her husband’s love, but she was content in the abundant love and blessing of God.
From this baby, Judah, came Jesus! From this baby! From this time of her life when she determines to praise the Lord, she is included in the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
There is victory in praise! This is where Leah should be. This is where she finds true fulfillment.
Old Pattern
It’s good and it’s right for us to shift our focus to God. He deserves all the praise. Praise brings victory! But here’s a warning: it’s easy to slip back into that old familiar pattern of seeking our value from others. The way Leah named her fifth and sixth sons show her focus was back on her husband.
“God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.” (Genesis 30: 17-20)
Here Leah’s attention is back to her husband and trying to earn his honor. We have to be aware of that natural, carnal tendency of turning our eyes from God to others.
We have to fight that tendency and keep our eyes on God. He is the one who brings us life and purpose.
A Mother’s daily antidepressant - PRAISE!!! (Isaiah 61:3b)
Let’s finish up with this last point. A mother’s daily antidepressant is praise! Through Jesus we can put on a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair! We can exchange a spirit of heaviness - and I’m not talking about our weight, I’m talking about that feeling of loneliness, that feeling of sadness….
Praise cuts the ropes of despair. Praise unlocks the jail of depression. Praise sets our spirits free.
How much more can we love our kids when we’re loving our God?
How much more can we love others when we’ve been praising our God?
We can’t change our circumstances. But praise puts our circumstances in right perspective.
Salvation – Listen, you can’t praise Him if you don’t know Him. If you do not know Jesus Christ and believe in His saving power, this verse probably doesn’t make much sense to you. The most important thing you will ever do in your life is believe. Believe Jesus is who He said He was. Believe and receive the free give of a relationship with Him. Nothing, no one can fulfill your every need. No one but Jesus can give you purpose, joy, peace, hope, and life!
Decide/Determine
In Genesis 29:35, Leah says, “This time I will praise the Lord.”
Decide to Praise God!! Determine in your heart to PRAISE the Lord!
Ø I’m lonely…I’ll praise the Lord.
Ø I can’t get pregnant…. I’ll praise the Lord.
Ø My husband is on a ship for 10 months…. I’ll praise the Lord.
Ø My husband is gone…. I don’t understand it, it hurts…. but I make a decision to praise God because He is good, He is sovereign and He is always right.
This time I’ll praise the Lord.
Closing - Tribute
I want to close today with a prayer of blessing over all the mothers. But before I pray, I want to read something that came in my email yesterday (author unknown). It is a tribute to mothers.
This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf full of Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It’s OK honey, Mommy’s here."
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football or soccer games, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!”
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies; and for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn’t.
This is for all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again, "Just one more time."
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own are at home.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed--when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they’ll never see. And for the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children’s graves.
This is for mothers of children with severe limitations. Your freedom has been exchanged for cherished service of love.
This is for those who have lost their mothers and would give anything to take them out to lunch today.
This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers, single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. So hang in there. You’re doing a great job!!
"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."
Happy Mother’s Day! Regardless of your situation, Praise the Lord!!
