Recently, the Lord blessed me with another year of life. On that day, I gave the following tribute.
"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."
(Psalm 139:13-16)
The very fact that I stand here today is a result of God’s grace and mercy, and it is to Him that I first give all glory and praise.
Secondly, I would like to speak of two dear people, the authors of my being, my dear parents. With the exception of my Lord and Savior, they have together been the most influential force in my life as they stood together and taught me when they sat in the house, and when they walked by the way, and when they lay down, and when they rose up. (Deut. 6:7)
In a day when many marriages end in divorce and when the world’s message is to greedily live for the gratification of self’s fulfillment, my parents have lived lives in stark contrast. Daily laying down and finding their lives through Christ, my parents have modeled a beautiful marriage by exemplifying Biblical marriage. There have been defining characteristics in the lives of my parents that molded me and taught me more than I often realize.
The first quality I would like to mention is perseverance in my mother’s life. Like the woman in Proverbs 31, she is an example of feminine strength and fortitude. I have seen her leave all that she had ever known and loved to follow my father to a different land. I have daily listened to words of perseverance since she became a Christian over 19 years ago. I have felt her persevering love through my entire life which began with the discomfort and trials of childbirth and continues to this day as she is an older woman to a sinner saved by grace.
If one word could describe my mother it would be gratefulness. She is a grateful woman. She is grateful for her husband and children. She is grateful to be the daughter to her parents and a sister to her brother. She is grateful for her heritage and that she is an American. This quality is not emotionally fleeting, or flippantly felt, but by God’s grace is part of who she is.
She sings for joy in times of sorrow or prosperity and never forgets who she is in Christ. And it is with Him, her Lord and Maker, that she spends her happiest moments in times of quiet worship or in periods of bustling activities.
Some of my sweetest memories from my childhood are rising from the night’s repose to find my mother reading God’s Word. Her heart was this:
“When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries,
May Jesus Christ be praised! Alike at work and prayer,
To Jesus I repair; May Jesus Christ be praised.”
I would now like to speak about my father. My father has loved us with his life, challenged us by his instruction, encouraged us by his praise, and taught us by his example.
Since the day I was born, my father has laid down the prime of his life daily for my sake. And not just in the way of working "by the sweat of his face” to provide daily necessities, but also in providing protection, counsel, and fatherly love.
One way my father has challenged me, by the very way he lives his life, is to have no fear of man. This fearless attitude has allowed him to follow Christ even when it meant living a life that was counter-cultural for Christ’s glory. My father is also a careful man. These two seemingly different characteristics are not incompatible as I have seen my father carefully count the cost before fearlessly pursuing what is right.
He also bolsters us with his praise. As a little girl through to this day, few things delight my heart more than knowing that I have pleased my father.
One example that has always been clear to me is my father’s trust in the Lord’s sovereignty and resting in God’s providence. In the darkest hours, I have heard him repeat the word’s of Job, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In the most joyous hours, his response is to give praise to God.
But I with lasting confidence will hope continually,
And I will add still more and more to all the praise of Thee.
For, God, Thy righteous extends into infinity;
And Thou has wrought such miracles, O God, who is like Thee?
Both my parents are purposefully united in the way they and our household live our lives that it might be a God-glorifying home, and from its heart, would live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. From their purpose stems many goals and standards for our lively family.
Here are the first three: that they would raise children who would, number one, love God.
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Deuteronomy 6:5
Number two, that we would love people.
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”
Romans 12:10
And number three, that we would have a love of learning. Not only that we might have a life full of discovery and learning, and not just for the sake of education, but for the glory of God.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
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Now, on this day, twenty-one years after my birth, I would like to call your attention to these two people, my mother, whom I rise up and call blessed, and my father, the man of God who is my loving patriarch. May God continue to bless them as they have touched many lives in powerful ways and still more that are yet unborn.
