Love, Ginnie
You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?
If the answer is that they have done very well, then your happiness will be complete. If they have done less than well, then no other satisfaction can compensate for your loss.
And so I plead with you tonight, my dear sisters. Sit down and quietly count the debits and the credits in your role as a mother. It is not too late. When all else fails, there is prayer and the promised help of the Lord to assist you in your trials. But do not delay. Start now, whether your child be six or 16.
God bless you, dear friends. Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. I hope that when that occurs you will not be led to exclaim as did King Lear, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” (King Lear, I, iv, 312). Rather, I hope that you will have every reason to be proud concerning your children, to have love for them, to have faith in them, to see them grow in righteousness and virtue before the Lord, to see them become useful and productive members of society. If with all you have done there is an occasional failure, you can still say, “At least I did the very best of which I was capable. I tried as hard as I knew how. I let nothing stand in the way of my role as a mother.” Failures will be few under such circumstances.
May the blessings of heaven rest upon you, my dear sisters. May you not trade a present thing of transient value for the greater good of sons and daughters, boys and girls, young men and women for whose upbringing you have an inescapable responsibility.
May the virtue of your children’s lives sanctify and hallow your old age. May you be led to exclaim with gratitude as did John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 Jn. 1:4). For this I pray, and pray most earnestly, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen."
Here's the link if you want to read all of it.
What a neat thing for me to read as I am watching my sweet friends grow up, marry & have children (some of them, their 4th & 5th children-Kel & Neane!).
I asked Shanan her opinion on having children - the real truth & nothing but the truth:
I am grateful to all the superb examples of mothers I know out there: friends & family, my grandmothers, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law & especially my sweet sister & my fantastic mom who have all been such inspirations of faithful, hard-working mothers throughout my life. I am forever indebted to you for your struggles & for even "plugging along," as dad puts it. (Shoot, some days, that's all you can do.) Thanks for making the struggle worth it. I am so grateful today for mothers. I hope one day to be half the woman you guys are!
2 comments:
Thanks for the beautiful tribute to motherhood ... what a wonderful surprise it was to read your sweet words when I randomly checked your blog today. Now let's hope no one comes to my office & see me crying all over the place.
I have no doubt, Katie, that one day soon you'll also be an amazing mother. It's been a pleasure watching you & Ginnie grow & mature into womanhood. I, too, second Shanan's comment when she said, "It's the best when we see our children's accomplishments and know we helped to teach and lead and guide them."
Love you bunches!!
Mom
Ah! Look how cute I was! I think Cameron looks a little like me here.
Thanks for posting this. Almost made me cry (dumb hormones!).
It's really fun for me, especially today, to think back over the past two years and how much Cameron, Chad, and I have all changed so much. And it's definitely been for the better (even if I'm more grouchy sometimes now than I used to be!).
You'll make a great mom, Kate. Don't worry so much about it. I know the things you do and teach your kids will be important and they will love being with you.
Love you.
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