We as mothers hope to one day leave a legacy.
It drives us to do what we do, day in and day out. It’s why we make the choices we make on a daily basis. It’s why we get up every morning to face the challenges of the day again. Because one day our children will grow and become men and women who will either carry on our legacy- the core values we have spent our lives instilling in them in every way we could- or choose a path of their own.
Purposeful Moms would not even be here if not for a woman that God entrusted my sister and me to so many years ago.
Let me introduce you to the original Purposeful Mom and the legacy she left behind.
Her name was Ana. And she was gorgeous.
That’s not just my biased opinion either. As a teenager, she was thin, had long, straight, bottle-blonde hair, and big brown eyes with lashes that went on forever. One day, as she was walking home, a gentleman with a business card approached her. He told her that he was a modeling agent, and his models would be featured on television that evening. He gave her the time, channel, and business card and went on his way. Ana went home that evening and turned on the TV. As she watched, she felt in her heart that she had a turning point choice to make. She could either choose to serve God with her life or choose to live a worldly lifestyle. That night she dedicated her life fully to Christ.
Her legacy taught me to always choose Christ and service to him.
Mom kept her make up very simple. Her beauty made cosmetics pretty unnecessary, but she always wore mascara. The mascara made her long lashes (which her grandchildren have inherited) more defined and caused her beautiful brown eyes to stand out (Faye inherited her eyes). One evening as she was worshipping in church, she felt the desire to weep before the Lord, but she was afraid to because the tears would cause her mascara to stream down her face. That night she vowed before God that she would never wear mascara again because she didn’t want to allow anything to stand between her and the worship of her Savior.
Her legacy taught me to care more about my relationship with God than how I look to others as I worship him.
When she began dating my father, she chose to hold herself to God’s standard of conduct rather than society’s standard. Her purity of conduct not only carried her through her dating years but kept her faithful to her marriage vows.
Her legacy taught me to put Christ at the center of my dating relationship and marriage.
Before she married my father, she prayed. She told God that she only wanted to marry my father if that marriage would be blessed by Him. As she prepared herself for her wedding day, she saw a tract in the bridal room of the church. The words on the tract said, “I will bless your marriage.”
Her legacy taught me to take my marriage to God before and after my wedding day.
As a young couple trying to make ends meet, my parents had a strict budget to live on. They only had so much to spend on groceries per week. But one day, their church was having a get together and asked them to provide the milk and coffee for the evening. My parents knew that by doing this, they would not have enough to buy meat for themselves for the week. But they bought the milk and coffee anyway.
The night of the event, the weather turned bad and the event was canceled. Someone from the church called my parents and told them that the meat that had been purchased by the church would go bad before the event could be rescheduled. They were asked if they would like to stop by and pick up some of the meat to take home for themselves.
Her legacy taught me that by giving to the Lord, He would always provide for my needs.
My father played in a band in his younger days. One night, as he my mother and his younger sister were walking back to the car, a man attempted to mug him. The man told the gals to stay quiet and no one would get hurt. My mother pointed her Bible at him and began shouting, “I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!” The man lowered his knife, took $5 out of my dad’s pocket, and took off running.
Her legacy taught me to call on the name of the Lord in times of trouble.
My mother prayed for us before we were born, after we were born, when we were sick, for our future husbands, and for our well-being.
Her legacy taught me to take my children before the Lord at all times for everything.
Mom taught us God’s Word on a daily basis. Until the day before my wedding, she would sit with me at the breakfast table and teach me a lesson straight from God’s Word.
Her legacy taught me that teaching my children God’s Word was my responsibility, not the church’s.
My mother has been with the Lord for 15.5 years now, yet her legacy lives on. It lives on in her daughters and in her grandchildren, who she never had the chance to meet.
As a Purposeful Mom, I pray that one day I leave a legacy for my children.
A godly legacy.
A legacy that will lead them to the throne of God on a daily basis.
That is a true legacy.
