Then, just before I turned eight, a family with 5 kids of their own took my two sisters and me into their home.  My new mother’s name was Gerrie.  She is my mother to this day.  Thanks mom for all that you did for us kids, I appreciate your sacrifice, your effort, your hatred of injustice, your love for the Lord and your example of a pastor’s wife who always gave to others without expecting a return.  Heck, you even taught me how to make macaroni ‘n cheese and how to bake a cake.  Thank you . . . although you didn’t birth me – you always treated me as one of your own.  I am and will forever be grateful to you.  Happy Mother’s Day!

As a kid, in my new foster home, my two sisters and I asked Jesus to be Lord of our lives as soon as we understood the Gospel.  One of our first questions after that was:

“Will we see our mother in heaven?”

Because they didn’t know our mother our new parents could only say: “We’re sorry but, we really don’t know if she received Christ or not.”

Well, one day a couple of years later my older sister Cindy received a trunk full of our mother’s belongings.  (Don’t ask me why it took so long – but I couldn’t have recalled this next scene if I was still only five.)  I remember Cindy coming out of the bedroom with a small Gideon New Testament in her hand expressing her joy and excitement in what had been written by our mother on the inside back cover.

In the back of that little Bible was printed what is known as “The Sinner’s Prayer” and underneath our mother had signed and dated in her own handwriting “On this day I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.”  We cried . . .

I don’t know if that grabs you but it certainly does me – some fifty-plus years later.  You see, I will once again see the woman that gave me birth.  I remember many lessons she taught me as a child and I will be able to say thanks.

Yes, we will be overwhelmed by God’s glory and goodness.  We will worship Him forever.  We will also be able to finally meet “this great cloud of witnesses” the writer in Hebrews describes. I can’t wait for it all!

So, thanks mom.  Thanks for who you were, how you protected me, how you taught me, and how you loved me.  You knew you were dying and you stayed with us as a “normal” mother to the very end.  I’m looking forward to seeing you again.  And while we’re being all mushy and stuff . . . I just want to say that I’m sorry for:

• stealing those cough drops at the drug store,
• beating up on my big sisters with my rubber knife while pretending to be Peter Pan
• declaring war with Timmy and Joey on that little lady in the park
• doing that “science experiment thing” with Susan and Cindy’s pet turtles
• stopping up all the sinks, turning on all the faucets, and locking you out of the quickly flooding house
• not wearing my shoes and stepping on those five rusty nails at once – I still remember the pain on yourface . . .
• feeding my cold split pea soup to the dog and telling you I was “all finished”
• and most of all, that unkind thing I said to you the day before you went to the hospital for the last time
• sorry . . .

Thanks friends for letting me share.  Please do something out of the ordinary for your mom this weekend.  If your mom is not around anymore, find a way to honor her.  The Bible says to “honor your father and mother” – it doesn’t say “until you’re 18” or “while they’re living” or “if they’re perfect” – it simply says: “Honor Your Father and Mother.”  Let’s do that, what d’ya say?

Love you all,

Steve

Deuteronomy 5:16