Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Mom’s Mini Messages

It’s been said that no matter how old we are, we never outgrow our need for a mother. I’m in my 60s and I wholeheartedly concur with that statement. Nearly every day I remember some type of wisdom that Mom shared with me. She was a stay-at-home mother so I spent a lot of time with her and I‘m so grateful. She was an excellent role model because she taught me by words and example. Even though we haven’t had a conversation for ten years now, the tape recorder in my memory replays her good and encouraging words quite often. I’m very thankful for her love and voice that I continue to hold in my heart. In 1996, I spoke at a Mother-Daughter Banquet where Mom was presented with the “Exemplary Mother” award. I’d never thought of describing my mom with that adjective. But when she flew away to Heaven in 2015, we had “An Exemplary Life” engraved on her headstone.

I think the first scripture Mom began to drill into my head was Numbers 32:23. I can’t remember if I’d done something specific, but all during my childhood she would say to me, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” I figured that if I did something bad, my parents or God or both would find out and the fur would fly.

Here‘s another vital scripture Mom quoted to me: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head” (Romans 12:20 NKJV). I didn’t understand the part about putting hot coals on someone’s head; that didn‘t sound like a good thing to do. Nevertheless, Mom wanted me to learn the lesson of  being nice and doing good things for people who weren’t nice to me.

She often quoted Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” She did an outstanding job of practicing this. She always had a big smile, a big laugh, and sometimes she’d even “cackle” when she got really tickled. Mom wasn’t a storyteller or a joke teller, but she sure got a kick out of everyone else’s funny stories. It’s been scientifically proven that laughter improves our mood and overall well-being. It reduces stress and tension, and also helps in bonding with others. I think a lifestyle of having a merry heart and laughing with family and friends is kinda’ like the glue that sticks us together. The ability to laugh together is bound to be a gift from God.

One time Mom and I were in the kitchen and, I don’t know what prompted this scripture, but she quoted, “A soft answer turneth away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1 KJV). You just can’t have an argument when someone has a smile and kind response. Mom was the first to show mercy and the last to pass judgment. She power-walked in her faith and she never wavered. She studied her Bible and practiced what she read. Her life was well lived and she was well loved.

Mothers are so important in how their children begin life and how they end life, and everything in between. “Hats off” to mothers in their constant efforts to nurture, teach, train, and love their off-spring. Mothers should be celebrated every day because they’re loving, relentless, valuable, selfless, beautiful, funny, and tough as nails.

The Key:  Exemplary mothers never go out of style. Keep up the good work!

Last night, I attended a T-ball game to watch Joey, a four-year-old, swing away at a rubber ball placed chest-high on a batting tee.  The rest of the time, he stood at attention in the infield, moving only when a ball landed between his feet and the coach told him to pick it up and throw it to first.  His mother is a childhood friend of my granddaughter, and I went to play “grandparent” since her parents live several hours away.

Joey isn’t fond of the game.  He is the shortest player on the Grasshoppers’ team and rarely has a ball hit his direction.  This night was different.  “Did you see me, Mom? Did you see me, Dad?  I caught the ball and threw it.” A first for the little guy.

From that point on, Joey covered the entire field.  From left field to center field to third base, if the ball was hit, he sprinted to be part of the group that tackled each other to come up with the prize.  I remember with great fondness our sons doing the same, and last night, I could not stop smiling.

But what really caught my attention was another teammate of Joey who was a head taller than all the other players and clearly had some baseball skills.  Instead of showing off his arm, however, he would catch the ball and hand it to one of the smaller Grasshoppers to throw it to first.  His parents had to be proud.

Unselfishness is in short supply.  Two weeks ago, I watched a video of an Easter egg hunt at a Florida beach where my four-year-old granddaughter, Paige, placed plastic eggs in her younger sister’s basket.  Other hunters were not so kind. They scooped up as many eggs as they could to fill their baskets, with no regard for much smaller kids reaching for just one.

What makes some people share (like that Grasshopper and Paige) and others be all about themselves? One such story in the Bible addresses what happens when we seek to serve ourselves.  Abraham and his nephew Lot had accumulated great wealth in livestock and possessions, and soon there was an argument amongst their servants about rights to the springs of water.                                                                                                                                                                Deciding it was time to part company, Abraham gave Lot the choice of which parcel of land he wanted.  Lot chose the richer, greener acreage of the Jordan River and settled near Sodom (Gen. 13:10-12) having no idea the sins of its citizens would result in his family and him running for their lives.

Ignoring God’s warning not to look back, Lot’s wife disobeyed and was turned into a statue of salt (Gen. 19:26).  The end was not good for Lot and his daughters.  Once safe (if living in a cave is “safe”), the daughters got their father drunk, had sexual relations with him, and birthed the beginning of Israel’s enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites.

I wonder if Philippians 2:3 was written with Lot in mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. That little Grasshopper and my granddaughter offer lessons for all of us.