Wisdom from Mothers around the World
by Dannette McKellar
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue . . .
Her children arise and call her blessed . . ."
Proverbs 31:26, 28a
Mothers are full of
wisdom. Whenever I brought a new boyfriend home, my mother told me,
“He’s nice, but you can do better.” But when I brought Andy
home, she said, “See, I always told you that you could do better!”
Three decades later, I can say, “Mom, you were so wise.”
I learned much from
my mother’s wisdom as I was growing up. More recently, I’ve
learned from the wisdom of mothers around the world.
“Can
a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have
no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though
she may forget, I will not forget you."
Isaiah
49:15
Years ago, I had a
warped view of sponsor children’s parents: Either they didn’t
love their children, or they weren’t good providers. Our first
Compassion Sponsor Tour shattered that image as I learned truths
about poverty and visited with two special mothers.
During child visit
day at the zoo, we met Yefy’s mother, Rosa. We couldn’t
understand their mother-son conversations. But it didn’t take an
interpreter to see the depth of Rosa’s love as she watched Yefry
scamper from exhibit to exhibit, and as she helped him read the
interpretive signs. We shared lunch at Pollo Campero, Guatemala’s
famous fast food chain. Toward the end of our meal, I noticed Rosa,
quietly wrapping leftover chicken in a napkin. I offered her my
extra piece, which she gratefully accepted and stuffed into her purse
with the others. I don’t know if Rosa wanted her family to share
in Yefry’s special day or if she was providing for their basic
needs. Either way, I sensed tremendous love in her actions.
On a different day,
we visited homes of sponsored children. Oscar Emmanuel and Anna Maria
led us along a narrow alleyway, zigzagging between tiny homes,
crammed together. When we arrived at their dingy two-room home,
their mother, Maria, welcomed us. Two beds, a dresser, and a small
table filled their living area. The ceiling was a blue plastic tarp.
Across the tiny outdoor courtyard was a kitchen, too small for more
than two people to stand on the dirt floor. Sun streamed through
gaps in the wooden walls and roof. In that setting, Maria mother
shared about her difficult life: Abandoned by her husband, she cared
for her three children and ailing mother, earning what she could by
sewing and doing laundry. But she was filled with hope: She dreamed
that her children would finish school and become professionals,
earning a good living.
Rosa and Maria
taught me that mothers in poverty are similar to the mothers I know
here at home. They love their children greatly, and have hopes and
dreams for their children’s futures.
"Give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ
Jesus."
1
Thessalonians 5:18
In South India, we
also came face-to-face with poverty. At one home, we crouched
to enter the small doorway. With no furniture, our group of
eight sat on the dirt floor, filling the one-room house.
Sunlight filtered through the open doorway, dimly lighting the
unpainted walls, while ants fell from the thatched roof above our
heads. In those dismal surroundings, the mother shared about
her difficult life and how Jesus had blessed her through Compassion.
In addition to helping her baby, she had learned candle making and
how to write her name. Now she could sign contracts and join
with other women in a candle making business. She had even
started setting aside a little money for the future.
“What
would you like us to pray for?” With so many obvious needs,
her answer amazed us: "Please pray that life would stay so good
for me and my family." By our standards, her life didn’t
seem “so good.” But this mother wasn’t focused on
material things. She knew how life had been before the church
had reached out in love, and before she and her family had
experienced the hope that comes from Jesus Christ. That hope
changed the world for her and her family.
Her example
taught me that hope is more valuable than material blessings and to
be more grateful for all God has given me.
". . . yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."
Habakkuk 3:18
". . . the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10b
I’ve never met
anyone like Lilian, our sponsored student in Uganda. Lilian squealed
with delight as she pulled the toothbrushes and tube of Crest from
the backpack of gifts we brought to her. It didn’t matter that her
household included 11 people and we brought only five toothbrushes
(“the boys can share this one and ...”). She was as joyfully
grateful for the inexpensive, practical gifts as she was for the
study Bible and silver cross necklace we gave her.
Lilian’s smile
and enthusiasm were so contagious it seemed as if she didn’t have a
care in the world. No one would guess that she was balancing her
full-time university studies with the responsibilities of being head
of her household. She had become a mother without family support
when relatives rejected her and her younger siblings after their
mother had died. Her family had grown with her sister’s babies and
again when they took in street children with nowhere else to live.
We were thrilled to
reconnect with Lilian through email a few months after she graduated
from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program. Still, it was
heartbreaking to read about her struggles to find employment and
support her household, even going without food at times. But in the
midst of her desperation, each email reflected hope. She recently
wrote, “But now I know we just have a little time on earth,
so if we focus on life-threatening issues, we are losing it all. Come
on let us be happy.”
Lilian taught me
that being joyful gives me strength when life gets difficult.
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