Grace Church-Burlington

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." Lin Yü-tang

Many of you know that when I was ten, my Mom was killed in a car accident. Those first years after Mom’s Homegoing were very difficult. I dreaded Mother’s Day. The memories and emotions that it would bring were overwhelming. It just didn’t seem fair. But when our Heavenly Father takes away, He always abundantly gives more than He takes. God will never be a debtor to us. Joel 2:25 talks about God restoring the years of loss and He certainly did that for me. Though they are not my "real" Mom, God placed two ladies in my life who were like mothers to me.

One was my Mom’s best friend, Harriette Crain. To say that I was one angry, bitter kid is an understatement. But Harriette, didn’t cut me off – nor did she preach at me or ride my case. She didn’t close her eyes to my rebellious and often obnoxious behavior, but loved me in spite of it. It was like she was shock proof. She also didn’t give me a bunch of pat answers and no subject was off limits. I could ask her anything. I didn’t have to fake it. I was loved for who I was warts and all. For so many others, I was just the kid who was always in trouble but for Harriette, I was a lost child who needed Christ’s love. When my Dad would go out to the clubs all night, leaving me alone in a rapidly deteriorating neighborhood...and I would be scared, I could always call Harriette.

My junior year of high school, when I went away to boarding school, Harriette gave me permission to call her once a month collect. In our day of cell phones that’s not a big deal but back then, it was huge. I remember many a conversation with Harriette, having someone listen as I tried to work through who I was and who God was. I struggled with why God had taken my Mom and left my Dad, a prescription drug addict. It was a dark night of the soul but Harriette was always there for me. Harriette is a gifted family counselor. God used this lady who had seen so much and was trained in helping the hurting to help me when I was so hurting. And she has been a grandmother to my children that they would have never had. She is always excited about their lives and what they are doing. As Harriette had struggled herself with seizures and had worked with so many children with special needs, she was particularly a blessing as we sought to help Ben.

The other is Mary Cummins or just "Mom" Cummins. She’s the complete opposite of Harriette and our Heavenly Father knew that I needed them both. Where you would sit down with Harriette and talk it through, Mom Cummins is a worker bee of activity. I can hardly remember a time seeing her sit down. And even when she was sitting, she would be sewing or shelling beans or doing something with her hands. Dad and Mom Cummins had five daughters so dealing with me was quite a stretch. But when I really had no place to go home to, they took me in. I never felt like I was an intrusion, just another loved member of the family.

Since I was ten, I had been taking care of myself. So here I was a freshman in college, and all of a sudden I had someone making a lunch for me when I went to work. I had someone doing my laundry and teaching me that there was a right and wrong way to do laundry. No one had taken the time to teach me basic life skills but Mom Cummins did. And she was always an example of how to work hard and truly enjoy it. Mom has a green thumb. What she would call a garden, most would call a small farm. Mom truly knows how to enjoy the simple things of life.

And she was so creative and was willing to try anything. I’ll never forget when I put a singles group together in our church and took the group skiing. Though she had grown up in the Deep South and had never been skiing in her life, Mom Cummins went skiing...and she loved it. She’s never met a stranger and is always bold to share her faith. If someone was sick or hurting or needed a hand with their kids, Mom Cummins always stepped up. It was never bad time or inconvenient. I can’t remember her ever having a "bad day." Her giggle is contagious and she loves life. She’s always an encourager...always thinking of someone else...always looking for another way that she can minister to someone.

Though I only have one Mom, just like everyone else. As far as I’m concerned, I really have three Moms. All three of them, though they are all so different, have one common trait – they all love the Lord Jesus with all their heart. It’s interesting that all three of them were always the first ones up, cup of coffee on one side and open Bible in the middle. All three were prayer warriors. All three had servants’ hearts. They modeled Christlikeness.
Today I know a little bit of what Jesus looks like. I’ve seen His life lived out in the life of my own Mom, Harriette and Mom Cummins. My life is so much richer because of them! The words of Solomon are true of all three of them, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all" (Proverbs 31:29).

And I really didn’t lose my Mom, we’ve just been apart for some forty years now. That’s one of the most wonderful promises of the Christian life, we never really lose those we love when we all know the Lord. It’s not "Good-bye," it’s "Good night, I’ll see you in the Morning" and what a "Morning" it will be when we are united in Heaven for all eternity!