May 16, 2020
THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME
My mom taught me to work hard. She taught me not only by telling me so, but by her example. She worked outside the home from the time that I was five years old. It never bothered me that she worked. I never felt neglected, even though she had to work some evenings. I was an expensive kid to raise. I needed new glasses every six months because I was so nearsighted. I had asthma, and that meant a lot of doctor visits.
My mom taught me self-discipline. We wanted to go to Florida for a summer vacation. We started saving money a year ahead of time. We had a gigantic piggy bank (that literally was a pig). We all had to put our change in the bank. I had to resign myself to not getting everything that I wanted so we could go on the trip. I saw that my mom and dad had to give up things, too.
My mom taught me that being part of a family and staying close to your family was important. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, but I had cousins, and I spent a lot of time with them. We lived next door to my dad’s mother, so we often went there for supper. My mom’s mother and dad lived in Blairsville. We went there every Sunday for Sunday dinner. I have always been glad that I belonged to a close family like ours.
The most important thing that my mom taught me was to go to church every week. Not just because our family had attended the same church for a long time, but because people go to church to be with God. My mother set an example for me by her church attendance, her service, and her loving ways toward people. I am so grateful that my mom took me to church and taught me right from wrong. It is a blessing that not everyone has in their life. I live the life I live today in part because of my mother’s influence, and I will always remember her with love and gratitude.
“When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” Prov. 31:26 NLT
Standing Together,
Brenda Gressman