Threads that Remain

Growing Daily

Threads that Remain

Last Mother's Day, my kids gave me a sewing machine. I hadn't sewn in years, so I sat down at the machine expecting to feel like a beginner.

But instead, my hands knew where to go. The motions were almost instinctive as I wound the bobbin and threaded the machine. Somewhere in the middle of the first seam, I realized why.

My mother had taught me to sew when I was about eleven. And what she taught stayed with me, even though I didn’t consciously remember it. What a sweet and unexpected Mother’s Day gift that sewing machine has turned out to be. As I work, I remember a mom in a tiny basement sewing room, patiently teaching a little girl who didn’t know she was absorbing lessons that would become second nature.

Scripture describes this same idea when moms teach the Word (Proverbs 22:6). Paul encouraged Timothy, “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood,” tracing Timothy’s faith back to his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14–15). We’re not told much about these women, but we see the result of their instruction: it endured and God used it.

So thank you, Lord, for my mom and all the moms who still minister, as the Spirit brings back to mind the Word they taught us (John 14:26). 

- Catherine Reid