As we approach Mother’s Day again this year, I am reminded of the godly heritage I was privileged to grow up in.
As a little girl I grew up on a farm in Indiana. All the years I was growing up, my parents traveled around the world doing evangelistic meetings. This required them to be gone months at a time, so I lived on the farm with my grandmother and great-grandmother. I watched my grandmother take care of her mother and was privileged to be loved, cared for and prayed for by both of them.
After my great-grandmother passed away, we moved to Florida, and my grandmother came with us to live. I was then a teenager, and my parents were able to be home more as they headed up a winter Bible Conference in Boca Raton for four months during the winter. In the summer months I traveled with them until school started again for me.
My mother and my grandmother both contributed to my spiritual up-bringing, showing me through their lives the power of faith, dependence on the Lord and the importance of seeking God’s guidance through prayer every day, not just when there was a problem.
When I went to college, my grandmother wrote me a letter every day I was away. She would tell me news, give me a Bible verse and remind me she was praying for me. I would check my mailbox each day at college, and there was always a spiritual, loving letter for me. She continued writing to me through graduate school and even after John and I were married. She only stopped when she was not well enough to write anymore. Just think of all the time it took her to write those letters and how much I would have missed them! She provided a security for me I would not have had otherwise.
This is the third Mother’s Day without my mother. It is strange not to pick out the right card or gift to show her how thankful I was for her and how much I loved her. She lived with John, Michelle and me the last fifteen years of her life and I count it a privilege to be able to have had those years with her.
I feel that not only can mothers but also grandmothers play a huge role in children’s lives. Their godly wisdom and prayers are so important for our children to see! I know I am eternally grateful that our daughter, Michelle has been able to benefit from their wisdom and prayers!
I wish for each of you, mothers, who are reading this a wonderful Mother’s Day. Thanks for letting me share what I trust is a little encouragement for you from what I have experienced.
Darlene Ankerberg
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