Mother

To one who bears the sweetest name,

and add a luster to the same,

Long life to her for there's no other,

who takes the place of my Dear Mother.

Many years ago my youngest son gave me a plaque with this poem on it. It has meant so much to me over the years as I read and memorized these sweet lines. In a following tribute to mothers we believe the following words are worthy of consideration: When considering mothers we think of purity. To properly rear a child, the mother should be pure in her heart, actions, attitudes, associations, and apperance. See I Timothy 2:9-10. A pure heart produces pure actions and a Godly apperance, not one that is shabby, gaudy or immodest. To have a pure heart in a fallen society, a mother must have time alone with God to study His Word and to commune with Him (2 Timothy2:15). We hasten to say there is never a convenient time to be alone with the Lord. These times must be made and guarded because no one can ignore the Bible and be holy.

Titus 2:3-5 tells us that a mother should love her children. It is a shame that our society has placed such financial demands on the family that mothers are called upon to leave their children with sitters while they supplement the family income. The children miss the closeness and warmth of the mother that assures the child that it is loved. There will not be a decline in delinquency until mothers become mothers. May God help children to forgive all of us parents.

Another importanat word is prayerfulness. Who knows the good that has been wrought, souls saved, lives changed because mothers prayed. In I Thessalonians 5:7 everyone is encouraged to "pray without ceasing." Then there is the word peacefulness. A fussing, fighting, frolicking mother does not create a peaceful atmosphere within the home. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

A mother's life should be a pattern for others to follow. Sufficient Scripture is given in I Peter 3:1-5 to convince mothers of the necessity of being an example in the home. Mothers can lead their famililes to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the words above to be a reality in a mother's llife there must be perseverance. The mother that surrenders to unholy desires cannot direct her children into the paths of righteousness. Motherhood must be fortified by learning to "endurehardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." ( 2 Timothy 2:3).