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| Along the Way 5-6-11 |
 Mother’s Day brings is almost always accompanied by great worship attendance. At least on this one Sunday when Mom says she wants her family to come to church with her, they comply. Moms are influential…even when they don’t seem to recognize it. Here is a story about the influence of a mother:Kurt Shaw, who works with street gangs in Latin America, observes that a common tattoo among gang members from New York City to Recife, Brazil is Amor so do mae (“Only a mother’s love.”) Shaw told the story of Jhonny, a killer and drug dealer in Medellin, Colombia, who had great affection for his mother, purchasing her expensive gifts. His mother refused a fabulous gold watch, explaining she didn’t want anything from him until he earned it with his own sweat. This was a wake-up call for Jhonny and within a week he left the gang. Shaw concluded that even hardened gang members have a heart for their mothers and are motivated to change their ways for the sake of this parent. (This story came from Christian Century, 12/11/07, citing the Harvard Divinity Bulletin.) We parents often sell ourselves short, disbelieving that we exert any influence on our children. But of course we do! I regularly ask myself, “What would Dad have said? What would Mom have done?” And then there are the times when I’ve not even asked…I’ve just acted according to the positive example that they left me. Every mother (and father) knows that being a parent is a challenge. We are only experts at raising children until we have our own. I heard about one child psychologist who had 7 great strategies for raising children and no children. But after marriage eventually the situation reversed itself. He now had 7 children and no strategies. Here’s how single parent Anne Lamott (best-selling author of Tender Mercies and Bird by Bird, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith) put it: “I had converted to Christianity long before having a child, but of course, having a child is like graduate school in faith! And everything else is like high school and undergraduate work.” Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms! I look forward to being with you this Sunday. Speaking of parenting, this will be the very last Sunday we will use the Wayne Street Nursery!! Next Sunday, May 15th, we will consecrate our newly renovated ground floor nursery and fellowship hall. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Creede Hinshaw |
