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Topic: Heroes (03/08/04)
TITLE: Maternal Influences By Valette Adams 03/14/04 |
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First and foremost to God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to those who saw something inside of us and responded to it. To bring it forth out of us, even when we did not know we possessed anything worth declaring.
There are three significant people who immediatly came to my heart and mind and Spirit. For each person has made precious deposits that continue to inspire, strengthen and sustain me to this day..and beyond.
I would have to start with my mother..Marjorie Walker. A single mom after a divorce left to raise 4 of us ,who spent most of her life working hard to provide for us. But through it all even as I was young..there was a grace about her, something I never really could put my finger on. One day I really came into the knowledge of what I wanted to be when I grew up..
I was in the 3rd grade. And it was the week of parents coming in to view their children as they were in class. There were chairs in the back of the classroom near the door where the parents who were able to come come in and exit with little notice to us..( As if that was impossible with kids !!!!)
Well..I did not know if she was going to make it because my mother never missed a day of work. I noticed as the mothers came in, their sons and daughters looking so proud..these ladies were dressed pretty well. Most of them were the PTA Moms..or frequent volunteers you would usually see in the hallways.
The day my mom came I did not really know the moment she came in. It was my little brother she had in tow..that made it known that there was another visitor. I always remembered that day because there was a revelation that burst in my heart as I watched my mother among these other women. She was there to watch me..but I watched her, and I noticed that she may have not been dressed as well as the other ladies but it was the way she sat.
Straight and legs slightly crossed...even managing a terror as my 2 year old brother ( who everybody thought was cute!!! ) I never took my eyes from her and since then I watched her more closely as she was with her friends at the house. She was always a LADY. It was a grace about her that you could not possibly learn no matter where you are from, what you may have or have not.
She was a LADY even in the presence of other women. It wasn't phony..you couldn't fake this out..when friends..your own peers confirm the most excellent secret that I kept to myself. In my heart I knew that when I grew up I wanted to be a LADY..at all times.
Now I have two sons..( no daughters ) it is important that they remember their grandmother in that way. That the same presence of grace is seen through me. I thank God for being a female..I love being a LADY and let them know that the appreciation I have should be appreciated by them regarding any young lady in their lives or they may choose to marry ( if they should marry ) .
My spiritual mother...the Pastor of the church I attend.. Another Spirit-*filled Daughter and servant of the Most High God. Another Lady , who reminds me of my mother in mannerisms and quiet wisdom. She knows me inside and responds to my inner man. I have witnessed her strengths and weaknesses as she has witnessed mine. But we shared a mutual respect and responded to the "Kingdom of God" within one another, which strengthened me and encouraged me in my walk with God. We say very little words but our Spirits witness to one another in volumes.
There is another Woman of God who has encouraged me to the point of pushing me into the Ministry of Bible Study and Teaching. She taught me the power of being a STRONG WOMAN in GOD...no matter what. A fire that is not detrimental to another but to entice another, to draw another to the embers of the flame that can not be put out. Yeah..thats her!!
The difficult part of the relations with each of these women was at different times in my life it required me to separate..not completely..not forever. But I had to at times ( especially my Mom and me ) back up and separate myself in order to set me right. I was beginning to become so wrapped up in these individuals..I had to step back and say " Hey..Valette..this is where you begin and they end " ...
I had to step outside and place myself in position..set me right for me, in me.
I must admit that there were times when the season I did this was not right...and they were right..but there were also times when the Lord met me and confirmed my season. Not to say I disrespected them in any way..went off speaking out of order or teaching out of order. I thank God for my Pastor for teaching me order in the Body of Christ...as I watch her under her elders in the Church Body.
It was just the spiritual space and maturation I had to process within me..to look back on what I have learned in the process of time.
Through it all..my mother died years ago..but her love and grace still lives!
I am thankful for these Mothers... I praise God for each of them, individually and collectvely!!!