On Being Mother

Mother had creative ways of imparting truth. As a consequence for some unkindness we had done, she had us write "Be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Needless to say, I didn't have to look this verse up in the Bible to get it right. Given the number of times I was the culprit of some unkind deed, this verse was ingrained in my memory.

Another sure fire tool was the Bible verses on the bathroom wall. We lived in a one bedroom, on bath house. With three little girls, it was a cinch that we were going to be spending some amount of time seated in front of that wall. Besides the business at hand (so to speak), what else was there to do but read? Mother methodically handwrote verse after verse, and we just as methodically read one after the other. It's amazing the effect that repetition has on the brain.

I seldom remember ever sitting down to consciously memorize a verse of scripture. Scripture was in our heads. It was the fabric of our lives. Mother had a verse for everything and had committed them all to memory for instant recall. Some of her favorites and ones I remember most:

FEAR: What time I am afraid, I will trust in the Lord.

ATTITUDE: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

REPUTATION: A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.

ANGER: A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.

COURTESY: As you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them.

CHARACTER: Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

CONSEQUENCES: Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Mother's influence didn't stop at home. At one time she did substitute teaching in our High School. She used her creative methods to curb misbehavior and would have erring students write scripture. She would write the verse on the blackboard at the beginning of class. She figured that was her ministry as well as her method of discipline. My future husband had mother as a substitute teacher once and remembers having to write verses as a disciplinary measure. (How cool is that?) He and I didn't even know each other at that time. This event didn't even come to light until much later into our marriage when we happened to be discussing high school. You can imagine our surprise at finding out that mother had been an influence on both of us before she could have ever known that there would be a connection. That's the beauty of scripture.

Later, she would offer the family monetary incentives for scripture memorization: $10 for First Corinthians 13, $25 for Isaiah 53 and $100 for The Sermon on the Mount. I got the $10 and the $25, but only mother, so far, has commited to memory The Sermon on the Mount. She says that one of her most memorable moments was when she had the opportunity just recently to quote it in its entirety at a church service. At some point during her recitation, she noticed that people had tears in their eyes. Some were crying. It touched her deeply. Obviously, her audience was touched.

That's my mother. At a very young age, she made a conscious decision to focus on the Word of God. Once she decided that scripture was vital, she never stopped making it a priority in her life and in the life of anyone with whom she would come in contact. Because of that, when she starts a verse now, we can usually finish it.

Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." I think mother had a firm grasp of this concept and has used it skillfully. As a result, God's Word has been and forever will be a "lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Thank you, mother.