2 Timothy 1:3-5
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Abraham Lincoln said, ”No one is poor who had a godly mother.” He went on to say, ”I remember my mother’s prayers, and they have followed me; they have clung to me all my life. All that I am and hope to be I owe to my angel mother.”

With today being Mother’s Day, I want to salute all of the mothers here. Not just because you came to church this morning but because of all of the different roles that you fill in the lives of your children and this church. Bookkeepers, taxi drivers, teachers, nurses, comforters, friends, a stand-in for Dad (sometimes), a leader in the home and at church, but most of all an example to those around you.

All of us are here because of our mothers so we thank you for bringing us all into the world. God knew each of us before we were ever born into this world and He knew the influence that our grandmother and our mother and father would have in our lives. Our family relationships, broken though some may be, tend to shape us individually into the men and women that we become. So whatever you are right now and what you may become is influenced by your mother first and your family second.

Mom has a role to fill and it has always been an important one. Regardless of the amount of “community” help you may or may not need or want in the raising of your children, God has gifted the women who become mothers with many talents.

I once read that if a woman was paid a wage for all of the jobs which she has in the home and in raising her children, their salary (which few could afford by the way) would be in the six-figure range. No matter how hard it may have been when you were growing up or even how hard it is today,

Mom always seems to find a way to make the ends meet and to make a good meal out of whatever may be in the kitchen or the fridge. So, let’s give thanks to God for our mothers and make sure that they know how we feel about all of the things, big and small, that they do or have done for us.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for our mothers because without them we wouldn’t know how much You love us. We would not have an example of the love that you instill in them which is a reflection of how You love each of us every day and all of the time. We can’t say enough about our mother’s love and compassion and how it has influenced our lives in so many ways. You placed each of us in her care so that we would learn and grow into the people that you knew we could become and without her influence in our lives, we would’ve likely turned out very different. I pray that you would bless all of the mothers here and elsewhere and help their children to know and appreciate all of the good things which they have because of their mother’s influence.  Amen