The church pageant was only a day away. I was nervous. My worry was I’d be the only girl without a proper gown. And I’d look like a poor, pitiful misfit.
Every year around springtime or fall, my church would put on an elaborate pageant as a youth fundraiser. At the time, my mother worked two jobs to make ends meet. She was a single parent with five children. So Veleta Jackson hardly had the time to indulge my whims. Neither did she have the extra money to buy her fourth child a fancy frock.
A mother’s love though goes the extra mile and does the unthinkable. My mom was dog-tired and worn out. But while I slept, she stayed up all night after work that Saturday, sewing my gown for the Sunday pageant.
I remember it well. It was a light green A-line dress she designed herself; an all-night sacrifice stitched from a labor of love.
There is much to be said about a mother’s unconditional love. It so resembles what we know of God’s great care and intense affection for His children. You might say a mother’s love reflects the tender side of God.
He created both male and female in His image. (Genesis 1:27) A man’s instinctive drive to protect and provide for his family is a trait he’s inherited from God Himself. So is a woman’s unquenchable desire to nurture and care for her children, no matter what their age.
My mother’s sewing project that Saturday night followed a pattern God laid out back in the book of Genesis. Whatever the need, He’s got it covered.
After man’s great fall in the Garden of Eden, it was God who went after Adam and Eve. Yes, He was disappointed by their gross disobedience. But God the parent was also concerned about their safety and well being. They were naked. So God killed an animal. He then pulled out His proverbial sewing machine, and made the first suits of clothes from animal skin. Genesis 3:21 says: “The Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”
A mother’s love though goes the extra mile and does the unthinkable. My mom was dog-tired and worn out. But while I slept, she stayed up all night after work that Saturday, sewing my gown for the Sunday pageant.
I remember it well. It was a light green A-line dress she designed herself; an all-night sacrifice stitched from a labor of love.
There is much to be said about a mother’s unconditional love. It so resembles what we know of God’s great care and intense affection for His children. You might say a mother’s love reflects the tender side of God.
He created both male and female in His image. (Genesis 1:27) A man’s instinctive drive to protect and provide for his family is a trait he’s inherited from God Himself. So is a woman’s unquenchable desire to nurture and care for her children, no matter what their age.
My mother’s sewing project that Saturday night followed a pattern God laid out back in the book of Genesis. Whatever the need, He’s got it covered.
After man’s great fall in the Garden of Eden, it was God who went after Adam and Eve. Yes, He was disappointed by their gross disobedience. But God the parent was also concerned about their safety and well being. They were naked. So God killed an animal. He then pulled out His proverbial sewing machine, and made the first suits of clothes from animal skin. Genesis 3:21 says: “The Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”
That act of love foreshadowed Jesus Christ. God the Son later died as a sacrificial lamb on the cross. His blood cleansed the sins of mankind. Now those who freely receive the resurrected Christ are clothed in His righteousness.
Someone once said “sacrifice” is a mother’s middle name. How true. I remember well how my mother worked over-time, even double time as a nurse’s aide, to provide for her brood. When we got sick, she was up all night chasing away our childhood fevers with her home-made remedies. She always put our needs ahead of her own.
No matter how small or great your needs are, God has you sized up and hemmed in. Remember, He took time to stitch you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalms 139:13)
Now we must trust that He has us properly covered.
Matthew 23:37 says, “Oh Jerusalem… How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing.”
How willing are you to trust God to keep you warm and safe in His care? Notice God’s pattern. It’s fashioned with your protection in mind. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Just like God, my mother had me covered. That Sunday I awoke to find my brand new, home-made gown waiting for me.
Later that afternoon, there I was among a parade of lovely teen girls sashaying down the church isle in pomp and pageantry. I did not appreciate my mother’s sacrifice back then. I do now so dearly. I grew to realize just how much she resembled God; His tender side.
Someone once said “sacrifice” is a mother’s middle name. How true. I remember well how my mother worked over-time, even double time as a nurse’s aide, to provide for her brood. When we got sick, she was up all night chasing away our childhood fevers with her home-made remedies. She always put our needs ahead of her own.
No matter how small or great your needs are, God has you sized up and hemmed in. Remember, He took time to stitch you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalms 139:13)
Now we must trust that He has us properly covered.
Matthew 23:37 says, “Oh Jerusalem… How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you were not willing.”
How willing are you to trust God to keep you warm and safe in His care? Notice God’s pattern. It’s fashioned with your protection in mind. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Just like God, my mother had me covered. That Sunday I awoke to find my brand new, home-made gown waiting for me.
Later that afternoon, there I was among a parade of lovely teen girls sashaying down the church isle in pomp and pageantry. I did not appreciate my mother’s sacrifice back then. I do now so dearly. I grew to realize just how much she resembled God; His tender side.
Scripture Of The Day: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." - Psalm 139:13 (NIV)
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