To honor my mom and the Savior of us both this Mother’s Day:
The skill to produce a beautiful bouquet of biscuits was passed on to me from my mother at a relatively early age. I loved hanging around the kitchen when I was growing up due to the benefits. One, I got to enjoy swipe servings before they were officially served, and two, I got to spend time with my mom. In reality, though, I don’t celebrate Mother’s Day. I celebrate Momma’s Day. So, let me from here on out, refer to her appropriately. My momma has always been one of my biggest supporters. She hasn’t always agreed with me. We haven’t argued outright much because pushing her isn’t productive. No, I can only really remember one time that she was, let’s say, expressively angry with me…wait maybe there was a second time, but the details are sketchy. I’d stayed out way later than expected and not notified her, then driven through the dark deer infested county roads of northern Walton County, FL to get home. Shout out to Pawpaw, “You sure better watch them deer.” Like most mommas, mine is quite protective. She has seen me get hurt, hurt myself, hurt others, and she's been hurt by me. Yet, she remains steadfastly in my corner. And, that’s where I feel like I learned some of my best lessons, in a corner in the kitchen.
In the house where I grew up, we had a small kitchen. I didn’t know it then, but we had limited counter space. Our refrigerator stuck out from the counter and beside it was the rack where we dried our dishes and a little small counter space that formed a small corner. It seems like I remember standing there observing the “goings on” in the kitchen. You are close to the sink which equaled the prep area and the stove. I appreciate the things I learned about life and caring for myself there in that kitchen. I also appreciate the things I learned about my mom that I never paid attention to until I became a husband. Like the fact that she is amazingly resourceful and creative, loyal, hard-working, patient, and dedicated to being strong because being weak means you will have to expend energy you might not have. She is also quite sacrificial. Most of you are going to say that about your mommas this Momma’s Day, but I’d like to highlight an area where some of you are missing out on a particular blessing.
I remember the day I sat down with my parents and told them I was surrendering my life to preach the Gospel. I was entering the ministry full-time. I was moving away to New Orleans to attend seminary. I didn’t know where I was going to live after I graduated. I didn’t know where I would raise their grandchildren, if God gave us any. I didn’t know anything. They got the message loud and clear. The relationship we had experienced up until that point was going to change. I’d always planned to live in Northwest Florida, close to my parents. And, let’s not romanticize the conversation/exchange. They had seen me go through phases and make quick decisions. Our family has lots of farmland that I could be enjoying, if I were living at home. I’m missing birthday parties for nieces and nephews, lunches with my sisters, free babysitting from two sets of able bodied grandparents, and double dates with my parents. So, after ten years to the month since we left for New Orleans, I can see with greater clarity what our Lord Jesus Christ was saying when He said,
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:37-39
My momma and I have sacrificed a lot for the ministry, and like I do on most Momma’s Days since I’ve “become a preacher,” I will remind her of how much I know she’s given up for the kingdom of God. Regardless of how “successful” I am in ministry, I can only trust that the six hours from DeFuniak Springs, FL is divinely strategic.
Lastly, I don’t want you to click on another link and think something inaccurate. I am not claiming some elevated status of discipleship here. What I’m hoping to leave you with is a challenge. I understand how important families are. I grew up in one of the most close knit that I know. I also know, that now days, families are stretched incredibly thin. A person’s relationship with Jesus is not receiving adequate attention. Therefore, the family unit is breaking down. We can’t love each other in the family context if we aren’t loving the lover of our souls. Since we are failing to love our immediate families well, we are also failing to love other families well. The support, encouragement, guidance needed in today’s world is being replaced with ungodly and secular sources because mommas and daddies are too busy, too tired, too disinterested, or too scared to pick up an infection to commit to a local Body of Christ and regularly attend. With that said, I’m praying for mommas tomorrow. I’m praying that the whole family will make a sacrifice for momma and do whatever needs to be done to see that she has the opportunity to be spiritually fed in the morning. The presents, cards, phone calls, and meals can wait until after the local worship service of your choice.
Finally, please consider your pastor tomorrow. Recently, I was at a pastor’s meeting in our area and there were approximately seventeen of us there. Including me, there were only two pastor’s with family a significant distance away from Barrow County. I don’t know if that is typical, but regardless, I’ll bet your pastor is missing his momma. Bethabra Baptist Church has been awesome to me in the area of time off. However, Sundays off can pile up in a small church setting and there are so many more holidays now than there used to be. Your pastor, if he is anything like me, will look out at you tomorrow and be extremely grateful for the family God has provided in lieu of the one into which he was born. But, it still won’t be the same. He’s following Christ…leading you…and missing momma.
29 “I assure you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, 30 who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and eternal life in the age to come. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Mark 10:37-31
Happy Momma’s Day Mary Louisa Frymire!
