The Roles and Responsibilities of Mothers filling in for Absentee Mothers

There are times when a mother is not able to take care of her children.  She needs someone she can trust and who has the same family values as she has.  A top priority need is when mom goes to the hospital to deliver another child, or when an illness or operation requires hospitalization.  That is when friends and neighbors come to the forefront.   If the children have been brought up according to the following scriptural advice, this will be a fun and fulfilling experience for every one involved. Even when they do not have the foundation of scripture, you, as a believer, can minister to them in love because you do have the truth of the scripture.
 

Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old  he will not depart from it.”

Ephesians 6: vs. 1,2,3 – “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise:  “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

Even though I only gave birth to one child, I have been blessed all of my adult life with many opportunities to be a positive influence on other peoples’ children.  I am also being blessed in my senior and retirement years by living in close proximity to my grand daughter and my five great grandchildren.

Here are some examples from my own life that might trigger your imagination as to how God might use you.. In my early married years we lived in a neighborhood of young couples with young children and many pregnant mothers.  God had placed me right in the middle of where I would be needed the most. Long after my daughter grew out of her crib, I kept it in case one of the neighbors’ babies needed a place to nap while the mom went grocery shopping.  I didn’t know it at the time, but God was training me to care for multiple children for my future ministry even though I only had one of my own.  My daughter was also happy to have other children to play with in her own home.

We had a humorous situation arise when I enrolled my little girl in Nursery School at age four.  She was picked up each day by the school’s station wagon driver who lived on down the street from us. The teacher at the school asked each child if they had any brothers or sisters at home.  My little one said she had three brothers.  The driver knew I only had one child, so she asked my daughter where I kept her three brothers.  She said I kept  them under the house.  Today, they would probably have believed the four year old and it would have become an explosive situation.  Thankfully, it was recognized as just a figment of a child’s imagination!

Since I became a widow, most of my adult life has been spent taking care of young teen girls who found themselves in an emergency care situation in homes for unwed mothers.   God can use a mother’s love to help anyone in need of that particular kind of love.  I praise the Lord that He chose to surround me over the years with hundreds of girls to impact with the love of Jesus.  My only daughter is a  Pastor’s wife and she and her husband are Marriage Counselors to many couples here and abroad.  

God knows all of our abilities and gifts because He gave them to us.  We just need to be willing to follow His lead and guidance.

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt                  

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Grandmother, Lois, the Grandmother of Timothy

When your children become parents, you automatically have another role to fulfill.  You don’t stop being  a mother, but you now have the added joy of being a grandmother.  You also have the responsibility to be a Godly influence on another generation.

As I peruse my present role as a great grandmother, I realize it all started with being a mother first, then a grandmother.  Now, three generations later, there is a possibility of my being a great, great, grandmother. The benefits are fabulous; as are the responsibilities.  If your own grandchildren live nearby, look around your church family and see who you might also bless as a pseudo, or substitute grandmother.  Many of my great grandchildren’s friends call me “Granny”.  They are also included in our “Sunday Hugs”.  This is what I definitely call “medicine for the soul!”

Paul said to Timothy –

2 Timothy 1:5 – “When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois and your mother, Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”

I am acutely aware that I am to be entirely trustworthy in my walk with Jesus.  I must honor the Lord in all my deeds and actions.  If I make a promise to one of these children, I must follow through and make it happen.  Because I know I can depend on God for everything I need, they need to know they can depend on me to do what I say I will do.  Of course, unseen circumstances, such as illness, can change plans.  We  have an obligation to let them know ahead of time and reschedule for the future. This is a way of letting  them know we respect their feelings.

We also need to have a positive attitude toward life.  No “poor me” vibes but an attitude of contentment in whatever state I am.  As Paul told the Church at Philippi:

Philippians 4: 11, 12, & 13 – “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

In the whole book of Philippians, there is a pattern of life to follow that will result in a peaceful, close relationship with God and others.

2 Corinthians 2:15 – “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those  who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

Galatians 5:16 – “We are to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh to bring honor and glory to God’s name and be a blessing and influence on others for  Jesus; to draw them near to Him.”

As you walk through life, seeking the will of God and His guidance, there will be a steadfast path for you to follow.  No short cuts or wrong turns will be accepted.

Proverbs 3: vs. 5,  & 6 – “  Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, And lean not on our own  understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, an He shall direct your paths.”

Thank you for reading this

Great Granny  Witt

Giving of Your Time

Everyone of us has been given 24 hours in each day.  How we use that time will determine what rewards we will receive in eternity.  Giving of your time to help others is akin to putting money aside every pay day to be saved for your future retirement.  Compare that to the spiritual rewards you are sending ahead to claim for all eternity.  A wise stock broker would probably choose to invest in eternity.  Of course this will not guarantee your entry into heaven to be with God our Father as Jesus explained to Thomas.

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

To go out of our way and take the time to visit the lonely, the sick or the elderly will be a blessing to them and also to us.  our motivation should be to care for others as God cares for us.
     

Luke 18: vs. 29 & 30 – “Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wives,or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in the present time and in the age  to come, eternal life.”

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

We might never know who is observing our good deeds.  We need to be a godly example to inspire others to do the same.

Galatians 5:16 – “We are to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh to bring honor and glory to God’s name and be a blessing and influence on others for Jesus, to draw them near to Him.” 

If we check our memory bank, we can probably recall someone who took the time to show kindness to us when we needed it the most.  This probably helped to strengthen our spiritual growth and draw us closer to Jesus.  Now we have the opportunity to do the same for someone else.  God’s kindness and mercy to us is never ending.  I pray our kindness and mercy for others will go on and on as  well.  It is a privilege to have a Savior to show us the way.

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt

I've only just a minute,

Only sixty seconds in it,

Forced upon me,

Can't refuse it,

Didn't seek it,

Didn't choose it,

But it's up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it,

Give account if I abuse it,

Just a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.

Dr. Benjamin Mays

Giving of Your Possessions

Many of our homes are almost bursting out of their frames.  They are filled with more furniture and stuff than they were designed to hold.  There are also young single people just starting out on their own and also newly weds.  They are both wondering how they can furnish an apartment or a house without going into debt.  This shows they are using common sense.  

I am sure we have all heard the expression – “Never the twain shall meet.”  But, they can meet!  The home owners can have a “free” garage sale, stocked with their over abundance and invite the above two groups only.  They can also invite single parents who have a similar need. 

 

Results:  The home owners have acquired more needed living space and they have helped the others to start out debt free.

 

This reminds me of my having read in the Book of Acts how the believers in those first churches helped each other.

 

Acts 2:44 & 45 – “Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. And sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need.”

 

Col. 3:17 – “ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

 

This was a biblical solution to what could have been a big problem.  Praise God for giving us examples that still apply today even though we might approach them from a different angle.  The result is still the same:  Problem solved!!

 

Thank you for reading this,

 

Great Granny Witt

Lending or Sharing What You Have with Others

Sharing is temporarily lending an item to another, expecting them to return it to you.  For instance, sharing your second car with a neighbor until his car is returned from the repair shop; or lending your riding mower to someone who cannot physically push a hand mower.  As we count our blessings from our Heavenly Father, let us be motivated to share them with others.

I believe there are more people in the world willing to help others than those who are selfish.  A selfish person thinks “What’s mine is mine and what is mine is my own.”   That attitude is in conflict with the advice from God’s Word in the following Scriptures:

Hebrews 13:16 – “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Romans 12:13 – “Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”

Matthew 5:42 – “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.”

Luke 6:34 – “And if you lend to them from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.”

The truth is that everything we have is a gift from God.  He is trusting us to be good stewards, or managers, of what He has given us.  We are to share it with others in His Name.

As God’s children our motto should be: DON’T GIVE TO GET – GIVE TO BLESS OTHERS AS GOD HAS BLESSED US! 

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt

Commercial Love or God's Love?

February 14^th has been proclaimed “Valentine’s Day”.  Every year in greeting card shops around the nation cash registers continuously ring as messages of love are being purchased.  These will be sent to special people in our live as we proclaim our love for them.  These messages are written by people who we do not know, to be read by people who the writers do not know.

God’s Word recommends a different and more personal approach.  Jesus says in John 13:34,35 –

“A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

This is not a once a year event but a daily practice.   

Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

God's love is an action word to be played out in all of our relationships.  The dictionary describes love as an unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.  That doesn't sound like what some people think love is – “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME’!  God is not just requesting that we love one another, He is commanding us to do so.  He repeats his command again in John 15:12 – 

“This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.”

We have many opportunities each day to show kindness and concern for others.  Such as:

1.       Opening a door for a person with a walker or one who is in a wheelchair.

2.       Encouraging someone who has been put down or belittled by another.

3.       Watching an infant so a mom can shop more quickly alone.

4.       Preparing meals for a family when a parent is ill.

5.       Giving a ride to Church to one who cannot drive.

6.       Taking lunch and sharing it with a person who is home bound.

7.       A phone call to offer help to someone in need.

    

Ephesians 5:1 – “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. “

What a blessing to know at the end of the day, that you have shown the love of Christ to another.   

Thank you for reading this.

Granny Witt