The Influence Of A Mom

The Influence of a Mom

Tim Brown, Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner, talks about the influence his mom had on his life in his book The Making of a Man. Tim writes, “Every mother is special. I have great admiration for all moms. Each is a full-time doctor, psychologist, pastor, teacher, chef, taxi driver, and police officer, all rolled into one. Mothers love their children with a fierce devotion that no one else on the planet can match. And even though we sometimes pretend otherwise, we—their sons—need them.”^a

I remember a moment as a child when I thought, My mom must really love me! We were on a vacation to Branson, Missouri, going down a multicolored slide at a carnival. It was the type of slide where you sit on a potato sack and slide down multiple levels. I was having the time of my life. Somehow, I had run out of tickets and my siblings still had some. I saw sacrificial love in action the moment my mom said, “Here, honey, take my ticket and go again.” To a five-year-old, that is what sacrificial love looks like.

Aren’t you glad your mom loves you like she does? If you have children, aren’t you thankful for the way their mother serves your kids? Moms aren’t perfect, but they are some of the first people who teach us what faithfulness to another looks like.

Remember the fifth commandment, the first one with a promise: “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). Don’t just honor your mother on Mother’s Day. That is when it is expected most. Do it on an ordinary day, and turn that ordinary day into an extraordinary one for your mom.

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:12