The best Mother’s Day gift of all
“Mom, what do you want for Mother’s Day?”
An all-too-familiar question heard around this time of year. These Mother’s Day gifts and acknowledgments come in many forms. Children who’ve moved away might send fresh flowers and cards, make phone calls, or even drive to your house to surprise you. Your entire family may treat you to a nice dinner at your favorite restaurant. Some families stretch out the celebration so each child can have an intimate time with you sharing a meal, shopping together, or maybe enjoying a cup of coffee with good conversation.
A homemade dinner around the table with our grandchildren, our children, and my husband of soon-to-be 33 years is good enough for me!
The greatest gift
But as heartwarming as these gestures are, there is one thing that outweighs the warmth of gathering around the table. The greatest gift would be for my adult children to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but the older they get, the more their salvation weighs on my heart.
To paraphrase 3 John 1:4, I would have no greater joy than to hear and know that my children are walking in the truth of the word of God, making it possible for us to enjoy the presence of the Lord together. But this can only happen after they have surrendered their lives under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, many of you can relate to my pain of losing a child; yet we have hope, and we rejoice that we will see them again because they knew the Lord. We are reminded through God’s Word in James 4:14 that our lives are but a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. How I am reminded of the brevity of life when I remember the day Irene and I had dinner together, and roughly three hours later she drowned in our neighbor’s pool.
Someone once said, “the greatest tragedy is not the death of a loved one but their death without knowing Christ.” Here is a truth we all know as followers of Christ. Our saved and unsaved children will all spend eternity somewhere. May this truth awaken a fresh urgency to have that conversation once again, alone, in love, and with compassion with our wayward child.
The need for salvation
When it comes to the salvation of our children, this issue touches mothers from all walks of life –whether an affluent community, refugee camp, homeless shelter, internally displaced camp, or anywhere around the globe. No matter our social or economic status, our children need the Lord. A mother’s cry in prayer on behalf of her children is the same in any language.
As Mother’s Day rolls around once again – bringing all the willing hearts of our children ready to please us – let’s seize this opportunity by asking the Holy Spirit to give us yet another chance to lovingly share the Gospel with the ones who do not know the Lord. We fervently pray for them; yet, sometimes we struggle to have that one-on-one conversation, allowing our children to see our heart for them in the light of eternity.
From one mother to another, I salute you for all the hard work you put in day in and day out, loving and serving your family. I know from experience that parenting is not easy. Press on, dear sister! From my heart to yours:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” ~ Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV)
Happy Mother’s Day!