A Mother's Thoughts

Here is what I read to Grace at the celebration of her thirteenth birthday:
Grace, you are our firstborn. Being the firstborn, you have to had the bear the most and worst of our parenting mistakes and I know you’ll have to endure more in the future. Remember that your mom and dad are sinful people, saved by grace, being sanctified day by day.

Your dad and I still remember the day you were born. Your hair was so red, we thought the nurses hadn’t cleaned you up very well. From the time you where in the womb, you loved music. That first day in the hospital, your Daddy got you to stop crying by playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto for you on a little tape recorder he placed in your bassinet.

Now you’ve grown into a beautiful young lady, both inside and out. People always told us that our kids would grow up before we knew it. Now we believe them. It seems like only yesterday when you ran around the back yard playing with the dog with only your pink rubber boots on.

Grace, you know your Dad and my desire for you is that you remain pure until marriage. You know that this is also God’s desire for you. Your Dad and I have been praying for a long time and will continue to pray that the Lord will provide a Godly husband for you someday.

It’s also our desire that you would embrace the role your Heavenly Father created for you. As a woman, you will have the opportunity to serve your family. You’re already doing that in this family. Some day you will serve your own family. The world disdains servanthood. Jesus embraced it. He said that whosoever would be first, should be last. Pouring yourself out for the family you have now and, the Lord willing, the family you will have in the future, is the way to true freedom. True freedom does not come in the pursuit of self-- that only brings bondage. True freedom comes in embracing servanthood and the role God has designed for you.

I recently finished reading a book in which the author said, “The truth is, if we constantly pursue our own happiness, we will never find it.” She also wrote something else to which I could relate all too well. She said, “I lament the years I wasted trying to ‘find myself’ instead of dying to self.” The Bible says to “redeem the time for the days are evil.” I pray, Grace, that you will redeem the time for the Lord’s glory.

This hope chest is to be a visible reminder of God’s plan for you. Only He knows what your future is, but we have God’s Word to use as a compass to get us heading in the right direction and with the Lord’s help, we pray that you will become a woman of God, “far above rubies” in value to your family, your church and God’s kingdom.