HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2012

Hello All,

On this very special day, I would love to extend my warm wishes to all mothers who have sacrificed much for their beloved children.

If you are thinking of treating this day as an ordinary one, my advice to you would be to reconsider your plans. The least that you could do is to call your mum and wish her ‘Happy Mother’s Day’.

Today’s poem was written last year for my mum but I did not have the chance to use it until now.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2012

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (9^th May 2012)

Dedicated to my wonderful mum, Law Sew Lian

There are no words that can express

The gratefulness of this heart so blessed

For a mother who does her best

To comfort me when I'm in distress

The treasures in this world can never buy

A faithful mother on whom I can rely

Who is there to console me when I cry

And wipe away the tears from my eyes

I thank God for a mother who always prays

For His guidance when I have lost my way

And for His peace, my fears and worries allayed

As I tread on the winding paths each day

Points for Reflection:

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her (Proverbs 31:26-28)

·         I am truly thankful to God for a godly, loving and caring mother who has brought me up in the ways of the Lord.

·         With regard to my mum, Proverbs 31 is the Bible passage that best describes her.

·         For those who are blessed with godly mothers like I am, do take some time to thank God for them and show your appreciation not only during Mother’s Day but also love, respect and care for them daily as God commands us to.

For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ (Matthew 15:4)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV)

·         Some of you might be thinking: ‘Well, I do not have a godly, loving or caring mum but one who gets me on my nerve most of the time so I will just try to avoid her as much as possible’ or ‘My mum is a responsible mum who fulfills all her basic obligations but she is just too distant and I barely know her as a person’ or ‘My mum was hardly around to care for me in my greatest hour of need so why bother?’. Although you might find it difficult to love and be patient with your mother, it will be helpful to remember that we are able to love because God first loved us while we were yet unworthy and unlovable sinners.   

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son [Jesus Christ] into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:7-9)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (1 Corinthians 13:4)

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

·         As Christian mothers, it is absolutely important to constantly remind your children to know, love and obey God.

·         How are they supposed to know, love and obey God unless you read God’s Word to them and encourage them to glean the treasures of the Holy Bible? Children are always looking up to their parents as role models and you should set a godly example for your children to follow.

·         Have you been putting in effort to instill godly values in the hearts of your children? If you have, let me take this opportunity to commend you highly for your endeavours and exhort you to continue doing so. If not, I do pray earnestly that you would seriously consider starting now before your children are all grown up and would no longer take instructions from you. There may be some of you with children who have grown up and sadly have turned away from the Lord. You might think to yourself: ‘There is no hope for my children who have left the faith.’ But that is not true at all. Even if your children would not listen to you, do not give up praying for them to return to our Lord Jesus Christ.