Life Without Mother

Dear Mom,

Thank you. Thank you for modeling and teaching us a love for God’s word. Tonight I finished up a lesson plan for a Bible study I’m leading at my church. (We’re going through a study that provides an overview of Bible basics from the structure to themes to key movements in the story of salvation. ) This week we’ll be reviewing the structure of the Old and New Testaments by genre, talking about the impact of knowing how to read the different genres on our accurate understanding of scripture. It brought back memories of sitting in our various school rooms, reviewing that large laminated chart of the books of the Bible. Singing the songs to remember the order, you explaining the genres and how they work together, learning who wrote what (or who was suspected to have written a couple of ambiguous ones), and I remember that I had quite a few questions — some you answered, and some you told me we would have to find the answer later. (I distinctly remember asking about creation and the age of the earth.)

That, along with our scripture memory for AWANAS as part of our homeschooling curriculum each year, instilled within me a foundational knowledge of scripture — a springboard from which to learn, love, and wrestle with His word.

Above all else, this foundation created a fundamental trust in His word as the only true Truth. When uncertainty clouds my life, I can trust that the words I read in the Bible are secure — and my very life itself.

It’s an absolute joy to say that I know far more now than I did then, and I love it even more. And — perhaps even more so — a joy to teach and (by the Holy Spirit’s power) inspire the same in other women.

So, again, I thank you for the best gift and lesson you could have taught me in my first 18 years on this earth that has yielded much fruit in the last eight years. I pray that the next ten leads to even more of a harvest.

Your daughter,
Hannah