Training The Next Generation

I remember the shock to my family as my mother was rushed to the hospital sick with polio, the deadly and dreaded disease of the 1950’s. I was only eight years old at the time, and I did not realize how much that particular day would change my life.

I was only eight years old at the time, and I did not realize how much that particular day would change my life.  I would live on my grandparents’ farm for the next few years as my mother fought for her life against this terrible illness.  Due to the contagious nature of the disease, I was not allowed to see her except through the hospital window as my dad, sister, and I would stand outside on the balcony across from her room.  I wanted so much to talk to her and give her a hug, but the hospital staff wouldn’t allow any such visits.  Children were not even allowed to enter hospitals, especially those with polio patients.

Three years later after my mother was released from the hospital and physical therapy, I was so saddened to see her unable to walk and only able to move her piano-playing arms with a fraction of the grace or coordination I remembered from just a few years ago.  Her legs would never function again.

Despite her disabled condition, I remember my mother taking me to Sunday school where she was a teacher, curriculum writer, and bus worker wearing her braces that my father would help her put on each morning. With the braces and using crutches she managed to “walk” short distances using her arms to support her body.  She had intense pain every day of her life until the Lord graciously took her home as she napped one afternoon forty-four years later.  I always knew that my mother loved my dad, my sister, and me, and most importantly, her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I know that my mom is surrounded in Heaven by many of her converts as I still receive letters from Sunday school children and adults that were led to the Lord by my mom.  She started a children’s Bible Club in our neighborhood and won many young children to the Lord.  Her Bible Club expanded to a weekly radio program for children.  They began to call her “Aunt Pearl” and the name stayed with her throughout her life.  Many little ones would run up to her at church, almost knocking her over as she balanced on her crutches, saying, “Aunt Pearl, we love you!”

I’ve watched my own dear wife love and teach our children.  For over forty years now in the CLA ministry I have been away the vast majority of nights doing cases and speaking for the ministry, as my wife has lovingly made my ministry possible and poured her energy into our children, our home, and the CLA ministry.  While people frequently thank me for our ministry work, I know that God will honor her for the sacrifices she has also made.

Each morning at the Christian Law Association, our staff gathers to pray for the prayer requests that are sent to the ministry.  Many of these requests are from heart-broken mothers dealing with the struggles of life that are only manageable with the power God promises.  Here are just two:

A sudden cancer diagnosis five years ago took the life of D.‘s husband.  She still shudders when she thinks about it, because it all happened so suddenly.  Practically overnight, she went from being a wife and homeschooling mother to being a single parent to three young children.  With God’s grace and lots of help from family and friends, D. has been able to continue homeschooling, giving her children the benefit of continued closeness and family unity.

M.‘s husband has a constant battle with a drug addition.  The chaos this imposes upon their home leaves M. with the task of rearing their two children without much input from her husband.  With God’s grace and lots of help from her local church and family, she has persevered.

It is obviously God’s plan for women to enjoy the privilege of being wives and mothers, with the full support and blessing of their husbands.  But the reality of a sin-drenched world does not always make it possible to follow God’s perfect plan.  But God is always there to help pick up the pieces and overcome whatever difficulties any family may face.

Many American families today look very different from those of only a few generations ago.  The rise of single-parent households, whether by death, divorce, or children born out of wedlock, is staggering.  Entire generations of American families have departed from the traditional family model.  As a result, they encounter many obstacles in their lives.
  Mothers today also have unique stresses that they often face without the benefit of extended family living nearby.  The work they do in the home is frequently not valued as much as the contribution of professional women in the marketplace.  Even in more traditional families, lives can become so rushed that many family members also feel a void.  Sometimes “home” becomes merely the place where we keep our belongings.

The reality is that mothers are fundamentally the anchor of the family.  When a mother has a close walk with the Lord, her anchor is steadfast.  Many an accomplished adult credits success in life to the encouragement of a Godly mother.  Although fathers are important as well, mothers primarily set the emotional tone, or the “heart” for the family.  A contented mother rejoices in her children, just as the Bible says God rejoices over us.  “He will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” (Zephaniah, 3:17) We pray that all mothers would be able to rejoice over their children!

How does God view mothers?  Proverbs 31:10 says a virtuous woman’s price is far above rubies.  Mothers are the nurturers of the young, and the preparers of the next generation.

Mothers not only influence their own children and families, but their influence can extend far beyond.  Psalm 128:3 says, “The wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house.”  What do vines do?  They grow and spread out and reach out.  In a similar way, Godly mothers reach out to others, beyond their families, who need that tender touch of mothering both in their neighborhoods and among their circle of influence.

We pray for mothers to embrace motherhood and to be joyful about the task the Lord has given them.  We pray that mothers everywhere will look at children as a blessing, as a gift from God, a heritage of the Lord.  We pray that young mothers would not despair over the little things, like diapers and messes and scattered toys.  God has given them the opportunity and the privilege to nurture the next generation for Him.

This month, the Christian Law Association celebrates mothers.  Let’s praise and encourage them for all the blessings they bring into our lives.  My dear mother, Pearl, is in Heaven, and my wonderful wife, Glorianne, continues by my side.  We celebrate forty-five years of marriage this June 12th, and she has been the perfect God-ordained wife for me.  To these ladies and to others like them across our nation and around the world, I say a heart-felt, “Thank you!” and “Happy Mother’s Day!”