Lessons From Mom (Part 3): Faithful Devotion

 ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  (2 Peter 1:5-7, NIV)

One of the memories that my brother mentioned at Mom's birthday party and that I had also included in her book of 70 memories was the way we admired her devotion to my grandfather after my grandmother passed away unexpectedly.  My grandmother was a remarkable woman, incredibly beautiful both inside and outside, and she took such awesome care of my grandfather.

My grandmother

My grandfather and me

When she left this earth, my mom and her siblings really stepped up to help him.  Having them there to support him and fill in some of the gaps left by my grandmother surely made the grieving process easier for him.  When my grandfather fought the illness that eventually took his life, my mother faithfully stood by his bedside offering him the care he needed.  Thankfully, her brother and sister also rallied around him during that difficult time.  

My husband and I are currently watching his mother care for her mom with that same spirit of perseverance and grace.  She is writing about her experiences on her humorous blog (click here).   I have heard people say that there is no way that their children would ever devote themselves so sacrificially to caring for them when they become elderly.  The tenacity required to patiently care for a loved one who has limited mobility and suffers from dementia is a quality that must be developed over years of growing in Christlikeness.  Mom's faithfulness to my grandfather has inspired me to let God use the challenges and hardships in my life to develop perseverance and devotion into my character.

 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4, NIV)

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is given to us at the moment of salvation, but we must daily submit to Christ's lordship over our lives before we can see the fruit manifest in such a way as my mother and my husband's mother have demonstrated.

Click here to continue to part 4.