Tag: mothers

Original post found at The Gospel Coalition

My son has just turned 2—he delegated to me the task of buying a Mother’s Day card and writing a message on it. I’m coaching him to say, “Thank you mommy” and “I love you mommy” (though it will come out, at best, as “Thar Thaw Momeeeee” and “I yubba oo Momeeeee”).

But what do I hope he will say thank you for, in 20 years, as he looks back on having grown up with a Christian mother? Here’s what I’d love him to say as a 22-year-old, as he gives his mom some Mother’s Day chocolates (chocolates, not flowers, son—chocolates tend to get shared with fathers, while flowers just get looked at on mantelpieces).

1. Thank you for putting Christ before me. You taught me from the word go that I’m not the center of your world, because I’m not the center of the world. And you told me who does have that position—the Lord Jesus. I was never allowed to rule our house, and you always made it clear that my opinions and preferences, though important, are not authoritative. Thank you for the times you were not able to spend time with me because you were ministering to someone else. Thank you for the times you were not able to spend money on me because you had given it to someone else. Thank you that in never treating me like the most important person in your life, you pointed me to the most important Person in the cosmos.