The Influence of Women

This morning as I was reminded that it is Mother’s Day, I thought about how many women have had a profound influence upon my life.  From the early beginning of memory, my mother and grandmother, than my predominately female teachers in elementary and high school, my greatly missed wife, three wonderful daughters and numerous other wonderful women along life’s way.  My grandparents had a profound influence upon my coming to the Lord at an early age and my wife was a tremendous encouragement and example to me in my walk with Him.  What a heritage and blessing to have such experiences from the women in my life!

As I thought about that this morning, I was reminded that to my memory, in every case that wisdom is mentioned in the Bible, giving it a gender, it is a female!  Thinking about that I recall numerous occasions when the wise council of a woman prevented me from making a serious error.  Our loving Father certainly knew what He was doing when He provided women for us men that can become rather hard-headed on occasion.  I wish that I could say that was only seldom for me, but that would not be true.  Women have been an extremely positive influence in my life, which is true in the case of every successful man I am certain, if he is honest.

In Proverbs 31 we are reminded from the words of King Lemuel about the tremendous blessing it is to have the wife chosen by the Lord for us.  He points out what a treasure she is (vs. 10-19), her compassionate spirit (vs. 20), the loving devotion to her husband and family (vs. 21-29) and her full dedication to the Lord (vs. 30-31).  I confess that I was choked up with tears of gratitude recalling the nearly 49 years with the wife of His choosing and I look forward to seeing her again on that day when I also pass through that final curtain of death! 

I trust that each of us will remember the tremendous blessing of women in our lives on this Mother’s day, and where possible, thank them and our gracious Lord!

Love to all,

Chuck