The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day is fast descending upon us. This Mother’s Day, Americans will spend a whopping $23.1 billion for gifts, including flowers, cards, jewelry, and electronics. The average American will spend $180.

How many of these gifts will be given in hearts of true gratitude and honor? Only God knows. Sadly, every token of affection will be meaningless in the absence of true honor. Behind every thoughtful gift must be a grateful heart, or else the gift will be but an empty symbol, devoid of meaning.

Not until I cradled our firstborn son in my arms did I begin to fully grasp just how much my mother sacrificially did for me. Below are three of the many things about my mother I am grateful for. Without her godly influence, I know I would not be the man I am today.

She Realized That Home Was Her Greatest Ministry 

In the words of Hannah Whitehall Smith, “To be a mother is the grandest vocation in the world. No one being has a position of such power and influence. She holds in her hands the destiny of nations; for to her is necessarily committed the making of the nations citizens.” As another pen wrote, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

My mother realized the vast God-given influence that she possessed over her ten children, a power “greater than that which kings and queens wield.” She believed that, as J.R. Miller noted, “Christ’s work in the home is the first that he gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone in this world or the next for neglect or failure there.”

In pursuing the ministry of the home, my Mother taught us to love God’s Word by example and inspiration. She and my father protected us from harmful influences that would most certainly have destroyed us, like tender plants, in the days of frail childhood. She home-educated us and taught us many valuable lessons in the curriculum of life. I have many precious home memories I certainly would not have had my Mother not followed God’s calling.

Raising children was certainly not the most glamorous pursuit she could have engaged in. There were far more earthly accolades to be found in other pursuits. My Mother’s example reminds me that the home, if stewarded for its God-intended use, can be the greatest instrument of societal change that the world knows.

She Possessed The Courage To Tell Me No

Like most children, I confirmed my sinful depravity and need for direction from an early age. At two years old, I painted myself and the wall before a social outing. My grandma loves to retell the story of when one of my brothers and I spilled the flower pots in her living room and began to romp around in the dirt. She did not find it humorous at the time!

Ironically, the word no did not in any way dampen my childhood memories. In fact, that little word subconsciously provided an added sense of security in knowing that my parents truly cared.

My mother possessed the wisdom to understand what I didn’t. She realized that one day I would be on my own, making all of my decisions, fully accountable to God. She knew that I would never learn obedience to God if I did not first learn instant obedience to parents. I would struggle to deny myself in following God if I didn’t learn to quench my selfishness.

She Displayed Selfless Love

Motherhood is undeniably the most selfless occupation on the planet. For me, my mother sacrificed sleep, social activities, and pleasure. She fed me healthy, nourishing meals and deeply cared for my spiritual well-being. She sacrificed in so many ways.

I thank the Lord for blessing me with a godly mother. I thank my mother for rising to the noble call of motherhood, as she sought to raise me for God’s glory. For her, I am eternally grateful.

A Life of Gratefulness 

Proverbs 30:11 states, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.” Sadly, our generation seems to be one of those generations. We have forgotten the command to “Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” We have consequently forfeited the blessed promise that follows its keeping.

To every son and daughter, the call of grateful honor rings clear. This call is lifelong and non-negotiable. “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is hold” (Proverbs 23:22). May it not be said that you waited to extol your mother’s virtues until she lay in her casket, her ears deaf to your words, the smile fled from her face, and her heart cold to your affection. 

My mother is not perfect, and yours isn’t either. In fact, none of us are. Yet we all have many things to be thankful for.

In a quiet moment, grab a pen and a notepad. Take a few minutes to thoughtfully reflect on all that your mother has done for you. Ask yourself, What things about my mother am I grateful for? How is my life reflecting that gratitude?

Give your mother a note or letter of gratitude. Lay your offering of words at her feet.

Be sure that your praises are not simply empty words. This Mother’s Day, don’t just give your mother a card, a gift, or flowers. Let Mother’s Day be a token of the love, honor, and respect you display for your mother every day of the year.

If you still reside within the home, you can bless your mother daily with thoughtful words and cheerful obedience. Do not wait till you are gone to wish you could have done more.

As someone once said, “No artist’s work is so high, so noble, so grand, so enduring, so important for all time, as the making of character in a child.”

Question: Why do we not demonstrate true honor and gratitude? How can Mother’s Day be a token of the love and honor you display every day for your mother?