**The following is a letter that I wrote to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. Her story is such an encouragement to me, and I thought more mothers might be inspired by her as well.**
Dear Jeani,
Sometimes I get discouraged in my role as a mom. It's hard to see the big picture when when I am elbow-deep in diapers, laundry and dishes--those jobs that
have no
end--thinking, "Is this really where you want me, Lord? Am I really at
my most effective here at home, raising my kids?" In my heart I'm a
warrior. I want to be on the front lines of Spiritual
battles, Sword in hand, defending my Faith--fighting for the Truth.
But I'm not. I'm spreading peanut butter on sandwiches and trying to
figure out who's really responsible for the crayon marks on the
carpet. But then I remember you.
You didn't have the start that I had. You weren't raised in a Christian home. You were exposed way too early to abuse, neglect, drugs, motherhood... You found yourself too young in a dangerous marriage, and you left it to protect your children. You worked, and worked, and worked to care for them, even when it broke your heart, dropping your babies off at daycare while it was still dark so that you could provide the basic necessities, so that they could live life secure and have things that you weren't given.
When I look at your life, it is clear to me that the Lord had you picked out from the beginning. And when you heard His call on your life, you stepped out of the world you'd been raised in, and decided to live one that would please Him. History has a way of repeating itself, especially family history, whether it is abuse, alcohol, divorce...but you stopped that cycle for your children. You changed your family history!
I know you struggled as a single mom. I know you didn't have the support you should have from your family. But you remained faithful to the Lord's calling to be a godly mother. You lived as an example to your children. You took them to church. You learned right alongside them, memorizing Scripture in the car. I know you had to sometimes be both mom and dad to them, but you leaned on the Lord for guidance and support.
You met with other moms to pray for your children...and are still meeting with those moms to this day! You chose not to be bitter about what you didn't have, but made your family's life the best that it could be. You encouraged Donnie to go stay in church, to be a leader. You worked and saved to make a way for him to go to Bible college.
And this is what I think about when I can't seem to make sense of my life as a mother, when it seems all I am doing is going from one menial task to the next. I think about how the decisions that you made were your mission field.
Your decision to follow Christ didn't just affect your life. Or even just your children's lives, but also the life of every person they will impact. The boys in Indiana that trusted Christ through Donnie's ministry, can be traced back to you. At least one of them has decided to become a youth pastor himself. And every kid who hears the Word from him, will hear it because of the decisions that you made.
I am in awe of what the Lord has done through your life. Your story is a reminder to me that motherhood is the spiritual battleground I was searching for. You fought that fight, and you finished that race. And even though I sometimes always feel like I'm getting off to a wobbly start, I'm glad to follow the path you worked so hard to cut out for me. Donnie likes to say, "Thank the Lord for godly mothers!" And I do. I thank the Lord for mine...and his.
Happy Mother's Day.
