A Mother's Day Tribute to My Mom: Janis Watson

I read the following exhortation during the corporate worship service on Mother's Day this year (2012). I truly am thankful for her loving care for me and for the many and varied ways I see that same care taking place in my own home through Karen to our girls. 

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Prov 31:30).

My mother, Janis Watson, loved me in numerous ways, but there is one facet of her character I want to celebrate this morning. She is a woman who, in word and deed, embodies the fear of the Lord.

God was at the center of our home and its activity. We read and memorized the Scriptures, sang hymns, and prayed. All of this had the effect of communicating that God is real . . . His Word is true . . . and that His love extends to our deepest needs.

I remember praying with my mom when I was young. She had a small notebook in which we wrote the names of those that were sick, poor, or needy in some way. She would sit me in her lap and we would spend time asking God to show His mercy in each case. I still remember when God spared an older man for whom we had been praying—a man with a brain tumor. Seeing God answer a prayer of such significance made an impression. Every time I saw Mr. Nethercutt at church, I was reminded of God’s mercy and fatherly care.

The faith frequently displayed in our home, coupled with the not infrequent conversations of God’s loving-kindness in Christ, laid the foundation for my later salvation. As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

God used my mother to impress the reality of His sovereignty, providence, and love onto my young heart. I rejoice in my memories of her example as well as what I see happening in my own home today as my wife READS, PRAYS, and SINGS with our girls about our God and His steadfast love.

Mothers, I exhort you in your ministry. Be encouraged. Don’t take it lightly or believe the lie that a mother is unremarkable or insignificant. Your words and actions have a unique role in forming the foundation a worldview . . . better: in forming a heart that will shape every decision your child makes. I pray that you too, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, will embody the fear of the Lord and the grace of His Gospel as you minister daily to the children He has given you.

J