Don't Look Back!

We are getting ready to go on a little trip, and if I were the type of person to have stress (haha), I would be stressing out about now.  I have a ton to do before we go, the least of which is blogging.  I was saving this post for later, but I am going to do it now, and then I am going to pretend the computer blew up so I can concentrate on doing all the stuff I need to take care of. So enjoy, and have a nice time while we are away :o)  Back in a while!

Mother’s Day is coming soon, and is a great opportunity for us to show and to tell our moms how much they mean to us.  Of course, we ought not to wait for this once-a-year occasion to honor our mothers.  If we are truly grateful we will tell them often how much they mean to us. However, because I recently wrote a birthday essay for my mom on what she means to me, this Mother’s Day my thoughts are not so much on my own mother, but on what kind of mother I am.  

      Lately I have considered Lot’s wife.  Read Genesis 19. Here was a woman who had at least four daughters.  Two of them were young enough to be living at home when the judgment of God fell on Sodom, and the angel of the Lord carried them away with their parents from the storm of fire.  But where were the other two daughters?  What kind of mother was Mrs. Lot? What could she have done differently while her daughters were growing up, to avert their tragic end?  When they were little girls, did their mom show more enthusiasm about shopping than she did about going to the Lord’s house?  Did it mean more to her to wear the world’s fashions than it did to have a beautiful heart for the Lord?  Did she sow the world's music and attitudes and activities and philosophies into her girls’ hearts so that when the time came to leave, they could not uproot the pride of life from those worldly hearts? 

The Bible tells us to remember Lot’s wife.  Many believe Mrs. Lot looked back because she regretted leaving behind her possessions and her social life and standing.  But I believe Mrs. Lot looked back because she had left her own children in Sodom. One day soon Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds to "catch up" those that are alive in Christ, from the coming wrath of the Great Tribulation.  Will your children go with you to heaven? Or will you have left their hearts and bodies in this old wicked world, full of themselves and the pride of life? If they are left behind in Sodom, you will look back with regret, too! Mamas, don’t expect your little ones (or your old ones!) to get a heart for Jesus just by being in church. You must live the Christian life before them daily. Sow the love of Jesus into their hearts! Sow obedience to his Word! Sow faithfulness and peaceful trust in the Lord! Read God’s Word together. Memorize and live scripture together. Pray for them and with them!

Before I ever had children, I prayed the Lord would not allow me to have any that would not be saved. That prayer cost me six babies and many tears, but not bitter ones. My babies are with Jesus Christ. Those were blessed, having departed before they could live after their mother’s example. But what about the four beautiful girls who are with me now? What kind of example am I giving them today? The Bible says, “As is the mother, so is her daughter,”  Ezekiel 16:44. ..."Remember Lot's wife." When the Lord takes me home, may my daughters’ hearts be full of Jesus, and void of love for worldly things. And may the Lord make my heart and life today what my children need as an example, so that when he comes for me, they will rejoice and come along! With my children next to me, I won't be looking back at this Sodom, grieving for the girls I left there.