One of the interns shared as a devotional on Sunday about the story of Ruth. Ruth is the daughter-in-law of Naomi who had just lost both of her sons and her husband. Upon hearing the news of her sons' deaths, she relinquished ties and duties she had with her two daughters-in-law. Ruth however, was not willing to leave Naomi. She exclaimed, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me" (Ruth 1:16-17). Naomi had such an affect on Ruth's life that even though she no longer had the lawful duty to Naomi, Ruth still wanted to be her daughter. This topic made me think of all the women and motherly figures in my own life. There have been a few women who have affected me in great ways and deserve the praise and thanks that mother's day has to offer.
The first being of course my own mother. My mom has always encouraged me to chase after my dreams. And no matter what dreams I chase after, she is always in full support of me. My mom's own story of struggle and triumph encourages me to keep on pursuing my dreams. She started her own business back in 1996 with no college education, no background in business, and barely any support. That small custom flag and banner business has skyrocketed today into a fully custom embroidery and sewing business that not only serves customers in our small town in Texas but many neighboring towns and even some in Colorado! Her mission in this business is customer service and the main way people hear about her business is word of mouth which means that people believe they have received excellent customer service or they wouldn't be telling their friends about her. I am very proud of my mom and how she has overcome such trials to get to where she is at today. Her love for her four children is evident in the ways that she fights for us. Whether that be in fighting for her oldest son's rights with his daughter, or her youngest son and his struggle with an addiction, or for us girls and our struggles with relationships, ourselves, and our dreams. I love you Mom. Thank you so much for all that you have done for me. You have truly been a very influential person in my life.
The second woman who has ever believed in me would be my sixth grade world geography teacher, Mrs. Rivers, who has since passed away. She was the first teacher who ever showed genuine faith and belief in me academically. She encouraged me to not give up on learning but to keep fighting learning struggles. Mrs. Rivers gave me hope that I could actually be smart and do something great with my life. That even though learning took a little bit longer for me that I wasn't stupid but actually had a great capacity to learn, I just had to work a little bit harder at it than others. Her belief in me gave me strength to overcome weaknesses that I had and I am very proud to say that I graduated college with honors. I still look back on my life in the world of academia and credit a lot of my success to this one teacher who impacted my life greatly.
Towards the end of my college career I had a mentor/friend who walked with me through some difficult times. CarylMay and I would sneak away from work in the mail room sometimes and go on coffee dates at the Starbucks around the corner. There, we would talk about life and different things that were going on. I can't tell you how powerful it was to have someone listen to me intentionally and gently encourage me to grow. A lot of healing and growth came out of those talks and the Lord defiantly used CarylMay to speak into my life. I have always appreciated that and wished we could have met way before we did. But the Lord's timing is perfect and I am glad He brought you into my life. Thank you for being there for me through many dark days and even some bright ones and always encouraging me to seek after the Lord. I love you and miss you.
Finally, this year I have had the great pleasure of being mentored by Mary. Typically every Wednesdays I have lunch at Mary's house. And, like coffee dates with CarylMay, lunch dates with Mary include talking about life. Mary has a great ability of pushing people out on limbs but then also sits out there with them until they are comfortable. She has done this a lot with me this year. I have grown and changed so much because of Mary's willingness to listen to the Lord and allow Him to move through her. She has a heart as big as the ocean and I know that is only because of her walk with the Lord. Mary's faith and love of God and of people have broken down walls within my heart and have opened my eyes to see more clearly. This woman is one who is after God's own heart and it is evident in how she speaks and acts. Mary, thank you so much for your guidance and love. I cannot wait to see what the next few months hold for us.
Thank you to all of the women who have impacted my life. The list is longer than this. I could go on about how my sister changed the course of my life by simply bringing me to Young Life and introducing me to this wonderful ministry. Or how much I have been blessed by those who read this blog and support me financially in ministry. The Lord has used many of you to touch my life in some capacity. Thank you all for that. Happy mother's day! E.
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