Relatives to the Rescue!

I love being a mom!

I'm not a perfect mother, and I know I never will be.  I will make mistakes.  I will let my kids down. But I will be the best mom I can be through God's grace and power. I'm so thankful the Lord uses other godly women in the lives of my children to complement their lives with me. He did the same for young Joash (yesterday's post) when wicked Granny Athaliah came after him with deadly intentions and his own mom went ... well, we don't know where she went!


There are children today who have suffered at the hands of wickedness.  There are children who have suffered the pain of neglect or abandonment. God wants to use godly women to nurture and protect children when their own mamas can't or won't. God intervened for Joash, and He intervenes for children today. 


I can't imagine trying to keep a child happy, much less quiet, in a temple for 6 years!?!? Joash's Aunt Jehoshabeath used the shelter of the temple where her priestly husband served to hide the boy heir.  And how 'bout the boy's nurse who stayed with him and helped to raise him in safety? When Jehoida the priest finally decided it was time to reveal the surviving King Joash to legitimately carry on the Davidic dynasty, wicked Athaliah was removed and put to death. During the years of wickedness, the temple had been badly ignored. Under King Joash, the nation turned to worship the true God and restore the temple. Decades later would find the idolatrous people wavering in their devotion, but in the midst of darkness, Joash led the nation in a time of spiritual restoration.  She was the tool that made a shining moment in a dingy history possible. 


God used Joash to carry on the line of David, and He used him to restir and restore a time of right worship. The audacious Aunt Jehoshabeath must've stood by in grateful and humble thanksgiving, glad she didn't just shake her head in pity at the sadness of the boy's circumstances.  She acted with bold and self-sacrificing decisiveness to intervene in the life and future of her nephew. 

Today, it may look like:

• A grandmother caring for children or even raising them
• A mentor encouraging and challenging a teenager needing direction and love
• An older lady helping a young mom to manage life's trials and tests
• A relative nurturing a child spiritually and otherwise in the midst of hard circumstances
• A youth leader taking time to counsel and pray with a teenager who has little support
• A woman coming alongside an unwed mother who feels alone and scared
• An older lady supporting a single mom who doesn't have a loving or present mom

My sweet Jo and Jake

Yesterday after school I dropped my 16 year old JoHanna off at the coffee shop to meet with Cathy, a lady from our church who has 2 grown and married daughters. They spent an hour studying the Bible together, sharing, and praying.  I'm so thankful God uses godly women in the lives of my children to complement and complete the mothering I provide for them. Some are biological "relatives," and some are in the "family of God."  We do not have to mother alone, and when we welcome others, our children are stronger for it. 

Perhaps one day they will restir and restore right worship in our nation, and I will rejoice for the audacious women in their lives!

• Is there a younger person in your life who God wants you to influence for His plan?
• Who needs your audacious influence?
• Do you know a woman who has been bold and self-sacrificing in the life of another?