May 12: Mother's Day Reflections

It is through faith that we are saved—by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. And yet, our VBC teaching team reminded us in our study of Romans 10 and 11, that we often set a table for ourselves made of things that we place our hope in other than Christ—tables that need to be flipped upside down. 

What things have you been tempted to place your hope in over the years and what helps you come to your senses?

As an extrovert and a people-oriented person, I have far too often placed my hope and expectations in people.  Part of that is not wrong, but where I have found failure is that by placing my expectations on people’s responses when I do things for them, I have often become disappointed when they do not “react” or respond in the way I think they should. 

For example, last spring, my niece received her master’s degree from Berkeley. I thought I had done a terrific job of encouraging her and supporting her through the grueling process which she had endured for the past two years in obtaining her goal while working at a very demanding job, getting married in between, etc. I gave her, what I thought was a lovely and very generous gift for the occasion. Much to my surprise, I was not invited to the graduation and or the celebration afterwards, which just included her parents and sister’s family. I was crushed to the bone. 

The disappointment and rejection from others always lead me back to Jesus and Romans 8:38-39.  Jesus does not disappoint. His love for me is not based on what I give Him, how I serve Him, the clever way I pray or talk about Him, etc. 

At 61 years old, you would think that this lesson should have been learned years ago and should not have to be re-learned as often as it does for me. Nevertheless, it does, and for that I am grateful that the Bible is living, active, practical, and useful for every age and every season of my life!

- Ingrid Register

How have you been richly blessed by having the input of spiritual mothers over the years, or how have you been blessed to be a spiritual mother to others?

[Some women from VBC] have been instrumental in helping me grow closer to God. They have helped me understand God's word, they've helped me see God's heart by their actions, they've spurred me on to be more like Christ. They have done all this by caring about me, speaking truth to me, correcting me in love, and mostly by studying God's word with me. I am so thankful that God has put these women in my life! Praise God!

- Susan Wong

One of the biggest blessings in my life is to witness the "ah ha" moments when gals understand Scripture. I've recently been having a study with a foreign national, and have come to see how many terms we use in church are Judeo/Christian and don't translate into a specific culture. It's been tough but satisfying to explain words like soul, born-again, glorifying God, etc. I never feel fully equipped when I lead a study, but I always know that God will meet me there and the Holy Spirit will translate.

- Kim Chew

I have never understood unconditional love until I became a mother to my daughter Gianna, almost 7 years ago. Becoming a mother has taught me so much about the LORD and about myself and understanding the importance of being surrounded by believers to help direct our steps in the footsteps of Jesus is priceless and invaluable. I see the work of God’s Hand in the beautiful heart my little girl has. When she belts out songs that bring honor and glory to God, when she is prompted by the Holy Spirit to immediately pray over and for me when she sees I’m having a hard day either emotionally or physically and in total confidence that the LORD will fix the problem, and when her heart is so often moved to lovingly help others. She loves Jesus so much and she loves people, (even if she’s shy at first!). God has taught me, and continues to teach me, a great deal about the fruits of the Spirit through her and from the loving example I’ve been so blessed to witness and be a part of in the Body of Christ. 

I am so humbly grateful for teachings and Spiritual growth Gianna and I are able to have alongside our faith-family. Since coming to VBC in January, I have learned so much and all of this is an answer to my prayer for the LORD’s will to rule my life and the humble request to grow alongside other believers who could help disciple my daughter and I. The community and Faith Family we are a part of is an incomparable gift from the LORD. Everything He has shown me so far through the blessing of Motherhood is further evidence that His unconditional love for us, no matter our struggles, is exceptionally greater than any of us as parents can fathom.

- Gerardette Hunt