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The wisdom of mom

As I pen these words, it’s Mother’s Day, and I’m blessed by the flowers, cards and words of my husband and our two sons.
Linda Wegner

As I pen these words, it’s Mother’s Day, and I’m blessed by the flowers, cards and words of my husband and our two sons. Highly respected within their respective communities, both our boys – oops, men – have contributed so much to the lives of so many, including ours.

Turning again to the Book of Proverbs for inspiration, I was, at first, overwhelmed by the references to the advice, admonition and examples of fathers. Reading more carefully, though, I noted a number of examples of the power of a mother’s influence as mentioned by Solomon, Agur (chapter 30) and King Lemuel (chapter 31).

Solomon opens the Book of Proverbs by immediately citing the significant impact of wise and godly parents (1:7-9): “How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honours.”

Then there was Agur: (30:11,12) “There are those who curse their father and mother and feel themselves faultless, despite their many sins.” Later in this chapter he details the risks and consequences of such behaviour.

King Lemuel refers the wisdom he acquired from his mother (31:1): “These are the wise sayings of King Lemuel of Massa, taught to him at his mother’s knee.”

I miss Mom and often ponder the lessons I’ve learned from her; above all, I realize most of them were silently lived out in kindness and faith. Does that mean good parents never fail? No, it certainly doesn’t for even the best among us is only human. We and our kids make mistakes because we’re all human and that’s life. Regardless of our backgrounds or of our ages, let’s ask God to help us bless others around us.