Dear HCMC,
Blessed Mother’s Day to all mothers and women!
Earlier this week, on Friday morning, I was conversing with my wife Velma when our kids were in school. She was sharing with me all her concerns over our three children. As I talked with her, I could sense her immense love for our children, how her heart and mind were continually focused on their well-being. Speaking with her and observing how she constantly cares for our family gives me insight into a mother’s heart.
Maternal love is often held up as the epitome of selfless love. And deservedly so. The extent of a mother’s nurturing and sacrificial love is truly extraordinary. In church, we are blessed to experience an added dimension of maternal love, through the nurturing care of many spiritual mothers in our midst. I personally am a beneficiary of great maternal love both at home and in church, from biological and spiritual mothers.
My mother is someone I greatly respect and admire. When I was growing up, through her constant love and care, I never doubted that I was loved. She made countless sacrifices for me and my family, always placing the needs of others before her own. She was the ‘relational glue’ that held our family together through thick and thin, and she maintained harmony in our three-generational household as I grew up. She could have advanced further in her career, but chose not to in order to be more present with the family. She also set a godly example for us. I have so many memories of seeing her reading Scripture and kneeling at her bed in prayer. She was the main teacher in our household (and a school teacher by profession too), and she was instrumental in shaping my values and virtues. Today, as a grandmother, she continues to be a godly influence upon all the grandchildren.
In the church I grew up in, I too was blessed by a lady called Liwen. She started out as a missionary, then served as a youth worker from the 1990s till 2015, when she sadly and unexpectedly passed away due to cancer. She was single, but she had many spiritual children. I grew up under her leadership and advisership of the youth fellowship. She was an excellent spiritual role-model and poured her life into many of us—three of whom are now CAC pastors, and many others faithfully serving God. Indeed, she helped me discern my calling into full-time ministry. I am sad that she never lived to witness me starting full-time pastoral ministry, but I am glad to have informed her, shortly before she passed on, that I had made plans to resign from my job to enter the ministry. As you can tell, she made a tremendous impact as a spiritual mother to many.
On this Mother’s Day, let us take the opportunity to give thanks for all the mothers and women in our lives, and make the effort to express our appreciation to them. No earthly mother is perfect, but I think we can still give thanks to them and for them, and the Bible teaches us to honour them. Let us live out the words of Proverbs 31, from the passage extoling the woman of noble character: “Honour her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” (Proverbs 31:31)
To all the women of HCMC, thank you for the truly important role you play in your respective families and in our church family. Thank you for your nurturing love as mothers in your households and spiritual mothers in our church. May our gracious Lord remember your labours and establish the work of your hands!
Rev Timothy
