I myself have not experienced giving birth to a child. When I married, my husband had two children in their late teens. A few years later I was blessed to begin having grandchildren. Although I haven’t had the experience of raising children, I have had the experience of being raised by a wonderful mother. One sweet memory I have is from when I was little and sick and my mom would play records for me, to entertain me while I was lying on the couch, or “davenport,” as we called it in those days. One record I remember is the story of “Three Orphan Kittens.” Another is the song entitled “Me and My Teddy Bear.”

(My teddy bear and I were inseparable. I sucked my thumb, too. It was usually soggy and wrinkled, like when you’ve been in a swimming pool for a long time.)

I’m sure I was quite a handful at times. I remember when our adorable little Pomeranian puppy, Penny, was hit by a car and killed. I begged to go out to the street and see her, but my mom and dad refused to let me (wisely). I cried and cried. They finally tried to console me by promising to get another puppy. But I kept crying inconsolably and said, “I don’t want another puppy! I want that one!”

My mother was a stay-at-home mom. She was very industrious. She excelled as a seamstress. She made beautiful lined wool coats for my sister and me when we were very young. I recall wearing  play clothes she had made of colorful print fabrics. She even made draperies for one of our homes. I’m grateful that she helped me learn to sew. By the time I got to my high school “Home Economics” class, I was already familiar with most of the sewing techniques. She was also a very good cook. She was faithful to make tasty, well-balanced meals. She was great at baking, too. On top of that she was a good housekeeper, and our clothes were always clean. She enlisted the help of my sister and me for household chores, and she let us help take care of our little brother after he was born. She always dressed nicely. I will blame her for my love of shoes.

The most important thing my mom taught me was how to live. She used the Bible as her handbook. Her speech and actions were consistent with the way God wants us to live. She always told the truth. She didn’t indulge in destructive gossip or allow her anger to get out of control. She was faithful in assembling together with other believers at church, and she believed in the power of prayer. She also knew how to laugh—a valuable ability in life. Sometimes she would get to laughing so hard with a friend on the phone that they would have to give up and hang up. After one of them finally called the other back, sometimes they would start all over again. I guess you could say that was included in her “handbook,” too. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

No one is perfect, but to me my mom was about as close as anyone can come. I know there are many who are not as fortunate as I. Some have even had an absent or abusive mother. But the good news is that for those who come to know God personally through faith in Christ, God can fill that empty space in their hearts. Recently, the movie version of the best-selling book, The Shack, came out in theatres. In it, God the Father, called “Papa,” was first portrayed as a woman. God told “Mack” that He could be whatever Mack needed. That is an amazing truth about God. He not only possesses the traits of a good father, but His love is more reliable than that of a human mother. Isaiah 49:15 says, “”Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” His nurturing nature, like that of a mother, is revealed in Isaiah 66:13. It says, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you . . .”

Although the book and movie versions of The Shack both convey some Biblical truths in a beautiful way, it’s very dangerous to blindly accept the concepts that don’t line up with Scripture. The actress portraying God smiled and said, “I don’t need to punish sin. Sin is its own punishment . . .” It’s true that sin eventually carries its own consequences, but Scripture is clear that God does punish sin. (See Genesis 3:16-19, Luke 16:19-31, Hebrews 12:6, and II Thessalonians 1:8-9.) I also found it very disturbing that the book and movie left the impression that since Jesus gave His life to pay for our sins, we will all automatically receive God’s grace on earth and ultimately end up in Heaven. In John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Acts 3:19-20, and many other references, the Bible plainly says we must repent and believe in Jesus in order to receive eternal life. It’s very important to know the Bible well yourself, as my mom and dad modeled for me.

Getting back to my mom, Mom was very gifted at playing musical instruments. She could play the piano, the organ, the accordion, and the xylophone. She used her musical gifts at church. There is one song I remember Mom playing repeatedly at home and playing often at church when she was requested to play music during the collection of the offering. It’s the song “It Took a Miracle,” written by John W. Peterson. It must have been one of her favorite songs. The words carry a great message. I found some interesting insight about the writing of the song at a website called tanbible.com. Peterson was an air force pilot who had to make long flights passing over the Himalayan Mountains. He was frequently “overwhelmed by the power of our Creator” when he viewed ” the rugged terrain below and the glories of the heavens above.” When he thought about the same God loving him enough to send His Son to die, his heart began to give birth to this song. I was very pleased when I discovered that Youtube had quite a few versions of the song.  I chose a version sung by Karla Worley. In honor of my mom, I have embedded the song below.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM