“Train Up A Child…”

Ah! It’s that moment once again when we celebrate Moms! A Mom – we all have one. A very important part of 3DWoman, Determination, Distinction, Destiny! Under the “normal” circumstances, it actually covers two thirds of 3DWoman, The Wife and The Mother. We don’t exist without her first existing. Whether she’s a part of our lives today, or a part of our memory. Whether Mom raised you, cared for you, or even released you as a child into what would seem at the time “the unknown,” we all have or have had a Mom. It would be impossible to come into this world without her! We know for sure she carried you within her womb prior to your grand appearance, or you wouldn’t be here! We thank God for every one of them and the decision made in having you arrive! You see, God had a plan for you before you were in your Mother’s womb and somehow, your Mom knew it and was the womb used to bring you through.

When reading Exodus 2 in the account of the life of Moses, Jochebed, his Mother, is having to make some tough decisions for her new born child, under the most stressful circumstances. I can’t help but think how her total dependency had to be completely on God. I think about Pharaoh’s daughter who found him and made a decision to keep him alive becoming a Mother figure herself. I think about the Canaanite Mother crying out at Jesus feet for her possessed child in desperation for healing of her daughter. I think of the Mother giving words of counsel to her son resulting in the book of Proverbs. I think of the two mothers before King Solomon as they both claimed to be the Mother of one child and King Solomon quickly requests for the sword to divide the child in two!!! Yikes!!! Will the true Mother please stand!!! Quickly!!! A true Mother always wants the best for her child. No matter where that child is, no matter how far that child goes, there is a part of her in that child that causes a Mother to rise.

Out of all the holidays in the year, it has actually been said that Mother’s Day is the most dangerous and depressing day in the prison system. One can only imagine why! There are constant thoughts of “Mom warned me!”, “I miss my child!”, “I should do better for my child!”, or “I want my Mommie!”

I recently had a phone call of a desperate Mom who discovered her child left in the middle of the night. Her words were, “He’s gone, he slipped away in the night!” Immediately startled, thinking the boy had died, as I continued to hear her heart crying, she went on to describe how this child had been planning this for some time, it then dawned on me the child was not dead, but instead he had left the house. As Mothers, there are questions that often flood our minds in these situations, “How could he do this to me?”, “What did I do wrong?”, “Did I teach him enough?”, “What do I do?”

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not turn from it. The Message translation interprets Proverbs 22:6, “Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost.” But the verse doesn’t seem to tell us anything about those in-between years. You know… those years before he or she gets old! What do we do until then!!! And when is “old”? Will somebody tell me how to “train up”!!!

The dictionary describes the term “train” to teach a type of skill or behavior through practice or instruction. With the acceleration of social media, we live in a society where the visual has become the dominant sense in our learning. Even when purchasing certain devices, the accompanying instructions no longer include text to read, but instead pictures and diagrams of pictures to follow. We live in an age where even Facebook has become too much text for these youngsters to read, where now “snapchat” is the in thing! A snap shot that is exposed for 10 seconds, disappears and poof!!! One picture in ten seconds says it all!

If in fact one picture says it all, one must ask, “what kind of picture are we portraying?” What is the image we want to teach our children as Mothers? Don’t underestimate the power of a Mother in the life of your child. As those children grow “old,” they will admit that the greatest influence in their life is their Mother. Whether you see that now or not. From the time of birth to the time of release we have the most powerful gift, which is “influence.” Influence is exercised through more than mere words. It is given through Action, Behavior and Practice. Action in our relationships with our children as well as others; Behavior with our spouse and authority figure; Practice by doing what we say. Let us be a lasting snap-shot of influence in our children’s lives that will create a picture of the reflection of God’s love, grace, and mercy. Let us be a reflection of His Image, that when the child is released, as in Jochebed, what is drawn from the waters may reflect a cry of God’s heart. Let us be the healing touch to our children where Truth and Grace speaks volumes in one lasting picture. And may we exercise God’s wisdom to know the best for each child, that we may rise to the responsibility entailed in pointing our children in the way they should go and that they may feel free to ask for directions when they feel they’ve lost their way. After-all, Moses did!