My mom turned 94 last Saturday. In our family, if it is your birthday, we tell stories about you during dinner. These "I remember when..." moments bring back great memories. Here's one of mine:Most kids look forward to their first days of school. Not me. I was petrified. At six, I was a homebody with a capital “H.” Promises of recess and finger-painting were not enough to lure me from Home Sweet Home. Most mornings I agonized over going to school. When I did, mom would pull me aside and say, “Let’s go pray!” We would find a quiet place, kneel down, and begin to talk with God.
It is amazing what those prayer times did for me. Help came, fears faded, and I would venture out of our house a little stronger. Prayer with mom taught me there was a God who loved me. I learned I could find his help kneeling by mom’s bed, sitting at my desk at school, or riding down the road on my bike.
As I look back, mom was laying down what brick masons call a course—a layer of stones or bricks that form part of a wall. God was using my mom to construct a spiritual house that could withstand the strong winds of adversity. Timothy’s mom was a bricklayer too. Listen to how Paul describes her impact:
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.(2 Timothy 1:1-7 ESV)
Timothy's faith was no acting job. It was the real deal! Why? Look closely and you will see two bricklayers in his life: his grandmother and his mother. Count him among those most blest of children! So is any kid for that matter who has a mom who lays one spiritual brick on top of another.
So today I want to say a big “THANK YOU” to my 94-year-old mom and all the other “bricklayers” out there. Keep it up! The walls you are building today will become a spiritual house tomorrow. And we'll be thanking God for you.
Question: Who has been a spiritual bricklayer in your life? What did that person say or do that God used to help build your faith? You can leave a comment by clicking here.