Nathan’s Mother

There probably would not be a person on earth that speaks less of his or her mother. Mothers play a huge role in the family. They make sacrifices. On the one hand, they have a duty toward their husbands and on the other hand, they are to care for their children. They often sacrifice their time, energy, money and others things to help establish the life of their children. They give their love and are always there for them day and night. They give them the best things and cook them their favorite foods. It is their natural instinct to be that way. God has made them to be special.

My mother was no different to any of the mothers that fit the above description. In addition, she was godly and knew how to sustain it. God becomes very intimate with godly mothers and there lies the disparity. She did everything that a normal mother would do, but had godliness watermarked in all of them. The time she sacrificed for us concerned both physical and spiritual needs. Above all, she always considered spiritual life as pivotal. So, her time for us included a good amount of prayer every day. Every once in a while she would tell us that her supplication to God for us was not the best education, riches or a great life, but repentance that leads to salvation. I took her words, but could not grasp them until the time God called me to His service. Now, I see all the more vividly how significant her work was toward us. To be established in Christ and by God is the way for fulfilling life. God makes plans for us and fulfills them. Each day I thank God that He willed to give her such great conscious.

Incidentally, she never taught us the laws or rules from the Bible, but through her life for Christ we learned them. She told us the good things of God, because she knew they are important to Him. We did not learn from her by rote, but she became the school of faith to us to obey Christ. I learned about Christ-like life by watching her live it every single day. She lived on one motto. It is to obey God in all matters and leave all the results to Him.

When young, as normal children, we faced problems in life. We would approach her and she would ask for a time of prayer. We gladly accepted her request and never complained. There’s only one reason for it. She began doing it since the time we were very young. Before long we knew what her answer would be if we sought her help. We would anxiously wait for her to enter God’s presence knowing there will be an answer. Sometimes we were disappointed, but never complained. We never complained due to her Christ-like life. The sufferings she was going through for the gospel radiated that life through her and her response would convince us not to make a fuss. We accepted God’s decision. And we always found out it was for our best. There were many times her answers did not disappoint us. It was one of the reasons we deliberately sought her counsel. At a very young age we learned to accept God’s will for us.

At times she just told us what to do. Her wisdom convinced us. We learned how to handle life and people from her and now are able to practice it in the grace of God. She taught us to pray and read the Word everyday and that brought us into grace. Suddenly all things became valuable in life. I understood why she valued all things in life, whether it was money, relationships, fellowship, or the things she owned. She counted them as sacred, because she knew them to be God’s blessings that required responsibility. She never made her own decisions regarding them, since she believed them to be very important to God.

It was a blessing for me to witness her running after Christ and not after the perishable. She had a massive influence on me. God blessed her incredibly in all areas of her life. And she never departed from exercising the gift of humility He gave her. God called her to His service and she served Him fifteen years. She served Him at a place where not a person heeded Him. And she suffered greatly. She continued by the Word God appointed to her (Ps. 3:6). She had respite from Him alone. Throughout her days He comforted her and His grace was with her. It was so very visible to us and even to those that did not heed God. She always said, “God keeps His promises.” She passed away in the year 2007 through a fatal accident. It was a very sad time for us. I lost the only companion I had at that time for faith. But, I realized her work was done and that the time for the unfolding of God’s promises to her is near. She accomplished God’s two-fold will to her. She led her children into His presence and did the ground work for the gospel. Though she is absent in the body, her memories, faith and her Christ-like life did not depart. Many mothers cannot equal a godly mother, and a godly mother is a joy, a true blessing. I pray and trust God to make many godly mothers out of women just as He has been doing for ages (Ps. 68:11-14).