Super-Moms: Mother's Day 2013

Mother’s Day 2013 (Super-Moms)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 5/12/2013

All this week our local Christian radio station (WBGL) has been paying tribute to supermoms! They’ve been inviting listeners to call in and answer the question, “What moment made you believe your mom/wife was a superhero?” Some of the examples I’ve heard include Josiah, who said of his mom: “When I was a little kid whenever I had a sleepover she would always make super good chocolate pancakes super-fast! I believe God gave her that power so we would not be hungry.”

Then there’s PJ, who said about his mom: “When I was a teenager, I was playing soccer with some friends on the lawn outside. I was not wearing shoes and accidentally kicked a tree. It split my toe open. My mom put me on her back and carried me several blocks to a nearby emergency room where I got stitches. This wasn’t the first time she did that. Another time I was riding an exercise bike without shoes on, and my foot got stuck in the bike. I screamed! My mom heard me from the laundry room, ran upstairs, got my foot loose, and then carried me to a nearby emergency room. As I reflect on this, I am guessing she has super hearing, super strength, and super love!”

Of course, identifying moms as superheroes isn’t an original idea. I saw a coffee mug recently that had printed on it: “I’m a mom. What’s your superpower?” There’s even a game you can download on your smartphone called Supermom, where you have to change diapers and burp babies faster than your opponent so you can earn the title Supermom.

So I contemplated this week what special powers and abilities a Supermom would need to have. What does it take to be a supermom? Well, the Bible gives a variety of answers to that question I think. So I choose three powers that seem to be the most essential to being a super heroic Awesome-Mom. This first is the power of prayer.

• THE POWER OF PRAYER

I remember a Mother’s Day card I saw that was really cute. It was a great big card written in a little child’s printing. On the front was a little boy with untied sneakers. He had a wagon, and toys were everywhere. He had a little cut on his face and there were smudges all over this card. It read, “Mom, I remember that little prayer you used to say for me every day.” Then you open it up, and inside was the prayer: “God help me if you ever do that again!”

There’s no question that a Mom’s life can be chaotic. Sometimes we’re so busy, tired, and stressed that we feel we don’t have time to pray. Yet these are the days we need to be talking with God the most. When you pray—for yourself, your kids, or others in need—you can’t help feeling a sense of God’s love for you and your family. You’re reminded of his awesome power and how capable he is of handling your situation. You begin to feel the love, joy, and peace that come to us from God’s Spirit.

The apostle Paul wrote, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them…so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT). Certainly that applies to moms and their kids. Pray for your kids so you can live a peaceful and quiet life!

Jesus, even though he was never a mother, modeled the importance of praying for our children. The Bible says, “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. The disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Matthew 19:13-14 NIV).

I’ll never forget the time that my son was three years old and I was tucking him into bed, when he asked if he could have some Superman fruit snacks, which he was able to have at bedtime the night before. I apologized and told him that they we all gone. He was a little heartbroken, but he didn’t cry. Instead, as we said our prayers together, he proceeded to plead with God to give him just a couple of Superman fruit snacks. As he continued praying, I quickly ran through my mental notes on prayer. How was I going to explain to a three-year-old that prayer isn’t about magically getting things from God, but about getting God himself? Well, as soon as he said “Amen,” I place one hand on the bed next to him and immediately felt something underneath it. I turned my hand over to discover two Superman fruit snacks which he apparently dropped the night before and had been laying on his bed unnoticed for the past twenty-four hours. Now, I know they were dry and stale, but I didn’t care. I just said, “Yeshua, look!” His eyes lit up, he thanked God, hugged me and popped those day-old fruit snack right in his mouth. I think that was the happiest I’ve ever seen him. And I believe to this day that God had that whole experience planned out as a way of instilling in my son at an early age that God does hear and answer our prayers!