{I apologize for the missing Spiritual Disciplines post yesterday … life happened! We’ll look at the Discipline of Celebration next week!}
This is Esther Burroughs, 74-year-old mother and grandmother and possibly one of the wisest women I have ever encountered. Her heart is filled with joy and when she shares from her life, she is open, funny, and transparent. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Mrs. Esther speak … do it!
I attended her breakout session titled, “Creating a Spiritual Legacy,” while at the dotMom conference. And it was amazing!
Using Proverbs 3:5-6 as her focal passage, Mrs. Esther challenged us all to to ask ourselves this question:
Am I passing the baton, the Word of God, faithfully to the generation behind me?
She reminded us that our legacy is simply “my story in God’s story.” When she began reading from The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
Today, I wanted to share with you a few of the nuggets of wisdom I gained from listening to Mrs. Esther:
- “Take ordinary circumstances in your life and turn them into an opportunity to praise an extraordinary God.”
- “Teach your children to pray. And when God answers, celebrate with them.”
- “The church assists us in the divine task of teaching our children about God.”
- “Leave a tradition of the open Word of God in your home.”
- “There are all kinds of books on parenting. But really, girls, all you need is the Bible and time.” {I LOVED THIS!!}
- Pray for that “other mother” in your child’s life … someone else to love him or her but who will see the things you don’t.
- Leave a legacy of prayer!
- Find a mentor! “Look for a couple who still holds hands and ask that wife to mentor you.”
- Designate one weekend a month, “No one in, no one out.” Give your family time to breathe.
- Leave a legacy of faithfulness. Share with your children the faithfulness of God in the Word, in our church, in our homes, in our lives.
- “Live out your story and relate it to your children through His story.”
Such an amazing woman! I was blessed to listen to her share her heart and her experience. And, I did look for a couple who still holds hands Sunday. I have spoken with a woman in our church about praying with me. Over and over I am reminded how little I know about parenting and how much I need the encouragement of those mothers who are ahead of me on the journey, whose children are grown.
Do you have a mentor? How could finding someone to pour into your life as mother help you to pour into your children’s lives?
