Saturday was an anniversary. Ten years ago - October 30, 2000 - my mother passed from this life into eternity. In many ways, it seems very long ago. And yet sometimes, it is still a very fresh memory. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of her......remembering something she said; laughing at myself for doing the "I'll never do that" things she used to do; wanting to share something with her. Throughout our journey through Proverbs 31, she has particularly been on my mind. You see, my mother was the ultimate Proverbs 31 woman!
We've looked at some traits of this unnamed woman in Proverbs, and we've come to know her as trustworthy, as a willing worker, as unselfish. My mother was all this and more. There are so many things I miss about her and so many things I learned from her. My mother was a tiny little woman, one who might have been described as "delicate". But she was mighty in spirit, a strong-willed woman who loved her children and their spouses, who loved her grandchildren. She loved her husband and was devoted to him. Above all, she loved Jesus!
I miss the twinkle in her eye, the grin when she was really trying hard not to laugh out loud, and I loved her laugh when she just couldn't hold it in! I learned so much from her. I learned that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time. I learned a commitment to excellence. I learned that details matter. I learned practical things......like how to make really good macaroni and cheese; how to sew; how to properly make a bed. I learned how to be a good shopper. I learned that no matter what the price, it isn't a bargain if you don't need it! I learned about manners and about treating other people with respect.
One of the things we learned about the Proverbs 31 woman is that she got up early to prepare for her household and her maids (Proverbs 31:15). In other words, she looked after the needs of her household. My mother was always up early to be sure the rest of us were where we needed to be when we needed to be there. But it was more than that. My memory of Saturdays is an example. Mother did not love cooking. She particularly did not love baking. But every Saturday afternoon, she baked a cake so that we would have dessert with our Sunday dinner. (My favorites were her chocolate pound cake and her apricot nectar pound cake.) Another Saturday afternoon activity - every Saturday without fail - was to spend some time at the church, getting her classroom ready for the 6 year olds who would come to Sunday School the next day. The room was arranged; the memory verses were on sentence strips on the chair rail; fresh flowers cut from our yard (or holly sprigs in winter) were arranged on the table. Everything was in place to make learning about Jesus a special experience for those children. She prepared for them, putting what they needed ahead of what she might want. She did the same for us....my daddy, my brother and me.
I am so blessed and thankful for my mother. I miss her more than words can say. I am grateful to God that Helen Neil Austin was my mother.....thankful for all I learned from her and thankful for the special bond we shared. I am continually blessed when I remember her love for the Lord and her love for His Word. I am grateful for the example she set of the priority of the Word of God.
"Her children rise up and call her blessed, and her husband also, and he praises her......charm is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." So reads Proverbs 31:28-30. My daddy loved and praised and honored my mother all the days of his life. And today, all these years later, I praise her as well. I rise up and call her blessed. And I look forward to the day when I'll see her again!
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