My Mom very recently passed into heaven. Mom was a virtuous woman and an inspiration. She loved her family well and was devoted to us all, and we to her. When I think about my Mom, I recall specific things that impressed my life and living, and things that I cherish greatly. If I were to list them all, this post would become a book. Consequently, I've chosen to share seven areas of her life that I value most.
1. Priorities: My Mom knew Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She lived her life faithfully pleasing God alone. Mom and Dad had 13 children. The first died at 19 days old. Any of us other twelve children growing up knew that, if there was ever a choice between Mom honoring God or one of her children, hands down, it would be God she'd honor. So really, we just didn't approach that kind of situation with her.
2. Wife: Mom was dutiful to her husband at more points than would fly in my household. For example, without any prior discussion, Dad would announce to Mom that he was moving us all to another farm nearby with a bigger house—or into town. The move would occur that day or the next! Mom duteously but lovingly packed everything up in that one day and off we were to our new home.
When Mom related this to me, I was shocked that, with or without children, anyone expected or managed a move so quickly. When Mom and Dad bought their first house (with 10 children in the nest), Mom had more time to prepare for a move because the process of buying the house took more than one day. In all fairness to Dad, he wonderfully helped Mom with the moves. Together they accomplished these otherwise impossible undertakings.
3. Faith: My Mom was the first to influence my faith. When I was about three years old, she told me that the Bible is the most important Book in the world, that it is God's Word, and that God's Word is more important than the Pope. That got my attention. Even at that young age, I already knew that the Pope was meaningful to Mom and Dad. Therefore, I reasoned that God and the Bible are of utmost importance.
Around my age four or five, Mom told me that no one gets to heaven because of anything they do. She said that we got to heaven only because of God so that no one could brag about how they got there. She shared Ephesians 2:8 & 9 which says that it is by grace through faith we are saved. Not by our own doings, but that it is a gift of God, and not resulting from works so no one can boast.
4. Prayer: Prayer before starting the day was a must for Mom. Until about age 99, she prayed each morning on her knees at her bedside. During the remainder of her 100 ½ years on Earth, Mom prayed from her wheelchair—still the first thing in the morning and still at her bedside.
5. Clean: To Mom, cleanliness manifested a life that coupled good character with honor toward others. Mom taught cleanliness of body, mind, soul, and house.
All of us children—boys and girls, from the oldest right through the youngest were expected to learn this attribute. While a work in progress on the body, mind, and soul aspects, we gained definite proficiency at cleanliness of house. Whether we practiced it when we left the nest or not, Mom was content that we knew how to clean well.
6. Creative: Mom mothered creatively. One situation of particular remembrance was when she taught us to be pleasant during the unpleasant and to make the most of it.
Before the days of home dishwashers, after each meal, we had to wash and dry dishes and the meal preparation's pots and pans “by hand.” In our family, the older children in the home did so in teams of two each evening.
Who really loves doing the dishes? As far as we children were concerned, “doing the dishes” was not viewed pleasantly. We easily succumbed to the temptation to take our negative attitudes out on each other. Hence, Mom put her creative genius to work by making us always sing while we did dishes.
When Grandma visited and heard the singing, she thought we just loved doing dishes! The truth was that, since you couldn't sing and poke verbal jabs at the same time, Mom made us sing together so we wouldn't fight! And we did love to sing!
7. Order: Mom embodied orderliness. Right up to and including the last day before she became unresponsive, she organized her surroundings and did things in order. As an example, the pictures of us children on her apartment's living room wall hung in a certain, though sometimes playful, arrangement. Additionally, Mom appropriately filed every paper and clipping in her apartment when she lived there. She knew the precise location of each. Moreover, after Mom moved to the nursing home at age 97, she knew the place of every item in her room.
During one of my visits with her before she passed, Mom exhorted me that orderliness included a clear desktop. I'm still working at that clear desktop thing.
Remembering my Mom, I have a great example to follow!
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
(Psalm 116:15)
Copyright 2024 by M.G. “Trudy” Granstrom Seward
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