10/12/05

Encouragement for Today

“A Momma’s Trust”

Sharon Glasgow, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member

Key Verse:

Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “You shall teach my words diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (NKJ)

Devotion:

When I was a little girl, I remember vividly a night that affected my life as a maturing young teenager. The memory still lives in my mind and heart today.

My mom and the four of us kids were walking to our car, when we were approached by a woman wanting talk to my mom. She said very proudly, as if she were a child-rearing specialist, “Louise, you’ve got good kids now, but you just wait (snarling giggle), one day they’re going to grow up and let me tell you, teens bring trouble and you’ll be no exception to that rule.”

My mom had always been an insecure person because of her childhood – her father had been abusive, and she constantly struggled with thoughts of failure because of her lack of confidence.

All of a sudden, my mom’s countenance changed. It seemed as if the wind stopped blowing and the stars grew brighter and time stopped. Mom looked at me with eyes that penetrated to my soul, and then she locked eyes with Susan, Scott and Sandy. Her 4’11’’ stature seemed to grow to 6 feet tall in a matter of seconds; confidence and joy swept across her face and she replied to the woman, “My children will be the exception. I have total trust in my kids, through the help of my God.”

We didn’t say a word on the way home that night. It was after that night that I remember my mom setting aside an hour every night to pray for us. I felt my mom’s prayers as temptations came when I was a teenager. Every time I was faced with tough decisions, I would remember how much my mom trusted me, believed in me and prayed for me that I would choose the right path.

Today, I’m the mother of five daughters. People have made similar comments to me in front of my girls, and I count it a privilege to carry on the legacy of what my mom instilled in me that night.

Just the other day, I over heard Heather, our 22-year-old, talking to her sisters about what the worst punishment in this world would be. She said it would be to disappoint Mom and Dad, because they trust us so much. I smiled and thanked God for the legacy my mom had given to me. I can’t wait to see the legacy lived out in the next generation!

Kids need to know you love them, but just as importantly, they need to know you believe in them, trust them, and are proud of them. How can we have this confidence? Only through seeking God’s help, strength and His wisdom everyday.

My Prayer for Today:

Dear Lord, Please give me Your wisdom in raising the children with whom You have entrusted me. Help me not to lean on my own understanding but to rely totally on You for my guidance. Thank You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Pray for your children.
Your children should know without a doubt that they are a high priority to you.
Care about every detail of their lives.
Love God with all of your heart, soul and mind, and love others as yourself. When you do this, they will become imitators of what they see in you.

Power Verse:

Titus 2:4, “Admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.” (NKJ)

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (KJV)