We recently celebrated Mother’s Day. I recall it being a painful day for my parents when I was growing up because both of them had lost their mothers at a young age (maybe some of you can relate). The custom in the church Mom attended was for girls to wear a corsage on Mother’s Day. A white carnation signified your mother was in heaven. Someone always bought Mom a corsage, and she hated wearing the reminder that her mother was gone. (To her dying day, she wasn’t a fan of white carnations.) She was quick to tell me, though, that even though her mother was gone, her mother’s teachings were not. The same was true for my dad. Both of my parents learned about Jesus from their mothers. They saw faith lived out so fully in front of them, they each made the decision to follow Jesus when they were very young. When they lost their mothers, Jesus upheld and comforted them. He was a constant Companion for the remainder of my mother’s life and continues to bolster my dad as he navigates life as a widower. Because of my grandmothers’ faithfulness in sharing Jesus with my parents, I had the blessing of a faithful mom and dad.

I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “Teach your children to follow Jesus, because the world will teach them not to.” So true! It’s very important for us to honor the instruction in Deuteronomy 11:19, “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” I’m so grateful for the legacy of faith that was passed to me, and I pray daily that this legacy will continue in every generation of our family.