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I have written to you several times about my 10th grade Math teacher. God used her to speak to an insecure, wobbly, and unsure girl...me.
She has made such an impact on my life that all of my friends have heard stories about her!
When I am not sure what to do about something, I think back to conversations that she and I have had through the years and remember wisdom that she shared.
I could go on for years regarding the impact this woman has had on my life...but I will let you read a post she wrote here a couple of years ago. I needed to be reminded of these words. I bet you may too.
Since writing this post, she and her husband have adopted FOUR daughters. They are well into their fifties and heard the call to foster and to adopt.
Needless to say, we don't get much time together anymore due to her full home. Yet, still, her words and counsel to me live on. Daily.
Grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and savor Beth's message to us.
A High Calling
By: Beth Crowley
My husband, Guy and I had our family over recently to grill out. These times were precious to us as life and parenting have been so busy through the years. We were all approaching the empty nest stages as one by one our children were launched to colleges, jobs and marriage. Sitting out on the deck as the sun was setting over the trees, my brother in law quietly said, “We did it.”
Many years ago when each of us began our families and only a few of our children were crawling around under our feet, we met for dinner. We were all concerned about the times we were living in and realized that we had no idea what our children would face. We decided to pray together as families for guidance and strength to continue to love the Lord with all of our hearts, and that each of our children would have a genuine growing faith in Christ; that they would have experiences with Him throughout their lives looking back, they would realize He was always with them.
Now, here we all sat in the twilight of our child rearing days overwhelmed with the abundance of stories of each child and God’s precious faithfulness to them. They all love Him. And the stories continue. In the past 24 hours each of my children have asked me to pray for them over certain situations in their lives; it is our way. Often Scriptures accompany my prayers and I tell them that it is my absolute joy to pray for them. I want them all to always remember that their mother daily petitions our Loving Father on their behalf.
Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias tells the story of a soldier assigned to bombard the front lines while the others covered him. The soldier asked what time it was and waited... When he finally made his way through a volley of firearms to safety, he was asked about the wait. The soldier replied, “I knew that at a certain time back home, my mother is always praying for me.” He had confidence and assurance in the prayers of his mother.
Our children are in a battle for their lives as well. It is a battle for the heart and the soul of their faith. This battle is best fought on our knees. We will absolutely have some sleepless nights... won’t you let them draw you to prayer for your family, for your children? I can honestly say that I recognize God’s presence is so close when I am praying for my children. It is what I am designed to do. It is what we are all privileged to do.
There have been some troubling times over my family; times of desperation when I’ve gone out on my porch at night to cry out to God on their behalf and I had absolutely no idea how the situation could be rectified. I remember whispering, “God, I don’t know what to do, the way seems too dark...”But something happens when you look up at a starry night sky in the quiet of the evening, and realize God is larger and problems seem smaller. I was gently reminded of Psalm 139: 11-12, “If I say, ‘surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me’; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” God can see through the dark times in our life and our children’s lives.
I never intend to trivialize difficulties that exist in our days, but I have to say with so much love that surely there is hope! So often I have talked with women whose situations seemed dire, BUT we serve a God of hope! It is important to share that anything is possible!
Make a lifetime commitment to knowing Christ by beginning your day with prayer and the Word. If you only start with five minutes on your knees in thankfulness, you will see your relationship with God grow through the years with joy in His presence beyond what you can imagine! It is never too late to begin! God so wants to intervene in your family’s life...it happens through prayer.
Scripture is filled with stories of godly mothers who clearly lived their faith in front of their children, leaving their influence to the following generation and beyond. But I want to share an unusual one. In Joshua chapter 2 a young and anything but godly woman was immersed in a pagan society and was a prostitute. Her name was Rahab. Aren't you thankful that however we start out in life, we don't have to end there because we serve a merciful and overwhelmingly loving Heavenly Father?
Rahab heard the stories of the children of Israel through the years but when she encountered the Israelite spies, she alone struck a deal. She would hide the spies if they would spare her and her family. They agreed and Rahab was spared from the destruction of Jericho. But her story doesn’t end there...
Imagine the changes that must have taken place in Rahab’s heart as she recognized the redeeming grace of the God of Israel. After, she married an Israelite she also became a mother. I just have to wonder when she held her little boy close, what sort of prayers she prayed. Surely she learned the ways of God; surely she was a faithful mother. For her son Boaz became a unique man, considerate, kind and accepting of another young woman from a pagan culture, Ruth. I love to think that prayers from a loving and forgiven mother deeply affected her son and those who followed.
This courageous woman, Rahab ends up in the greatest place of honor, in the linage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So God honored a pagan prostitute and her child when she valiantly believed Him. God redeemed her family line and He can most certainly redeem yours.
Clearly there are many many aspects of motherhood we might consider, but it is my joy to share some of my favorite Scriptures to pray for my children. Won’t you join me as we pray for the next generation? Won’t you put your children’s names in the space?
When they are not with me...
Isaiah 54:13 “And all my children will be taught of the Lord and great will be the peace and undisturbed composure of my children.”
For times of protection recite and learn the reality of ...Psalm 91.
In times of worry, replace that with crying out to God...
Philippians 4:6-8, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
When they need to understand their uniqueness to God...
Psalm 139:13, 17-18 “Oh Lord, you have knit me together in my Mothers womb...
How precious are Your thoughts toward me, Oh God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the grains of sand.”
For wisdom In times of decision...
Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
In times of uncertainty...
Romans 8:35, 37-39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Motherhood is a high calling and a sacred trust from God. All that we have in this lifetime, everything and every one that passes through our home belongs after all to God. We have been given a wonderful opportunity to cherish, nurture, love and pray for our children . May they delight to know and follow Christ all the days of their lives...because we ask of God through prayer. With so much love.
