Ronny Keller Michel – From the Heart

Abraham Lincoln once said, “All I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” I can identify with Lincoln, for I, too, am privileged to have a wonderful mother. I only hope to follow her example with my children, and one day, my grandchildren.

Motherhood is, without question, the most important job in the world. From the moment of the child’s conception, the mother is responsible for this miraculous life. Mothers are given the incredible challenge of being available 24 hours of every day to care for their children. A wise mother realizes that this task is impossible without God’s continual guidance and she seeks His assistance daily. No one but God realizes the amount of time and energy that you put into raising your children, and only He can equip you for this lifelong commitment.

I honor you for the job that you’re doing with your children, and I know that often your impact reaches far beyond your own family. Some women go beyond their own borders and touch the lives of other children such as nieces, nephews, grandchildren, students, children of friends and their neighbor’s children, as well.

I want to speak for them, for all of the children that you have mothered, and thank you for a job well done. I want to stand for them and applaud your unselfish and often sacrificial gifts of time, energy, love, and yes, money. And I want to kneel for them and ask our Father to strengthen you, to energize you, to fill you and allow you to overflow with His love, joy, peace, mercy, wisdom, and blessings.

Thomas Edison once said, “My mother was the making of me. She was so true and so sure of me I felt I had something to live for – someone I must not disappoint. The memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me.” I wonder what my son, Geoffrey, would say about me. Probably something similar to what author Calvin Trillin said, “The amazing thing about my mother is that she always served us leftovers. The original meal has never been found.”

Psalm 127:3 beautifully declares that “Children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.” May God continue to pour out His grace on all mothers as they daily care for their precious gifts.