I am married to the greatest woman I have ever known. She also happens to be your mother. For years I have taught people about the grace of God, but I understand God’s grace most clearly when I see you mom and realize that I don’t deserve her, for she is far greater than anyone I deserve. Your mom is beautiful, both inside and out, and is easily the best person I know. I suspect that is your belief as well.
I am thankful that your mom showed you the importance of having a relationship with Christ. I may have been the one who baptized you, but your mom is the one who led you to faith in Christ. She is the one that was committed to teach you all of those Bible stories and she taught you the value of knowing and loving Jesus.
I am grateful for your mom because she was always more interested in your character than your accomplishments. I was the one who was concerned about awards, achievements and accolades. Your mom was always more interested in your character. She wanted and continues to want you to be a person of good character.
I also appreciate that your mom was the one who was committed to making sure that you served and valued others. Remember all of those things you did to serve at church when you were younger? Unloading and loading tubs? Backyard Bible Clubs? Mission trips? She knew that it was important that you didn’t just say you loved your neighbor. She wanted you to experience ways that you could tangibly love your neighbor through actively serving them, regardless of who they were or where they were in life.
She also encouraged you to pursue your passions. When you were young, she exposed you to countless opportunities from soccer to karate. She took you to all kinds of places to broaden your learning and experiences. If you showed an interest in something, she encouraged you to explore it. And when you discovered your talents and developed your gifts she riotously cheered you on. She continues to be your greatest cheerleader and advocate.
Your mom has been and continues to be the glue that keeps us all together. She’s the one who keeps us on the rails when we want to leave the tracks. She’s the one that has helped us know what matters and what counts. Any values we have that are worthwhile have been established by her steady, loving hand.
I’m most grateful that your mother has loved me. Everyone in every church I have served has esteemed me in ways that are beyond who I really am. You have seen me on good days and bad. You know the unvarnished me, the me I am when I am at home out of the spotlight. Your mom knows me even more than you, and she unconditionally and sacrificially loves me in the midst of who I am and what I am. If you love me, and I know you do, its because your mom has has shown you how to do it.
Our family isn’t perfect. None are, I suppose. But deep down I know we wouldn’t trade each other for anyone else in the world. And we can all thank your mom for that.
