'The mother'
Erich Fromm wrote, “The child, in the decisive first
years of his life, has the experience of his mother
as an all-enveloping, protective, nourishing power.
Mother is food; she is love; she is warmth; she is
earth. To be loved by her means to be alive, to be
rooted, to be at home.” A child's mother is the
initial and primary source of comfort. In Isaiah
66:13 God compares his care of his people to that of
a mother to her children, "As one whom his
mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will
be comforted in Jerusalem." Then from before
the time the child can remember, his or her mother
is the teacher. Solomon writes, "Do not forsake
the teaching of your mother." (Proverbs 6:20).
This, of course, assumes that the mother has taught
that which is good and biblical. It is not an
overstatement to say that mothers wield more
influence by shaping the personality and character
of the children, especially early on, than anyone in
the world. Or at least that's the way it should be.
'The mother-in-law'
In the television program
"Everybody Loves
Raymond", Marie Barone has to be everybody's
worst mother-in-law nightmare. She is critical,
intrusive and acts as if her grown son is still ten
years old. Apparently a far cry from the kind of
mother-in-law Naomi was to Ruth. It may surprise
some to know that the beautiful passage often cited
at weddings, Ruth 1:16 was originally from a
daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law, "Where you
go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people, and your God, my
God." A good mother understands that she can
have a positive impact on her child’s marriage by
being a good mother-in-law. If it had been up to her
she may or may not have chosen the man or woman who
is married to her child. But married they are. And
if she loves deeply her child and her grandchildren,
she will learn to love deeply and treat respectfully
her daughter-in-law or son-in-law.
'The grandmother'
The word "grandmother" occurs only once in the
Bible, 2 Timothy 1:5, "For I am mindful of the
sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your
grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am
sure that it is in you as well." Grandkids
should be able to see and hear grandma's faith. Her
well-worn Bible and sweet disposition may touch many
generations to follow. An 8 year old girl wrote,
“Everybody should try to have a grandma, especially
if you don't have television, because grandmas are
the only grownups who always have time.”
