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“I’m peculiar.”

If she said it once, she said it a million times.

That was my mom.

For a number of years, my sister and her son lived with our mom. Mom was always full of grace, class, and love. And, by today’s standards, she would be considered old-fashioned.

My nephew always lovingly told her she was “weird”! Her response? “I’m not weird; I’m peculiar!”

However, she wasn’t peculiar at all. She was a woman of faith and great strength. Though understandably shaken after my dad died suddenly on my birthday in 1996, her strength bolstered her to continue living.

She was not a fashionista. She could not have cared less about being “in fashion,” yet she was always well dressed. She hadn’t changed her hairstyle in maybe fifty years but it was always perfectly combed.

Everyone who knew her thought she was a true lady. Mom was known for her life in Christ. The qualities of generosity and caring were her distinguishing characteristics. Though she suffered with arthritis, back and breathing problems, and years of pain from a severe twisted ankle and a broken hip, she rarely complained.

Yet, she was peculiar, for she was scripturally correct. She was God’s treasured possession, as Exodus 19:5a says, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.” (KJV) Other versions define it as special treasure, treasured possession, or something similar.

God separated His people to be a peculiar bunch, to make known His Name, and to be a glory to Him among all people. And that was Mom.

Mom died two days before her eighty-fourth birthday in 2008.

Unfortunately, not every child is blessed to have a godly mother. Some mothers are negative, abusive, cold, or uncaring. Some even abandon their children, either by addictions, absence, or giving them up for adoption. Many adverse circumstances shape a mother’s life and contribute to her behavior.

Maybe you had or have a mom that behaved badly toward you, abandoned you, or did not fulfill all you needed from her. Maybe she was or is the farthest thing from the example of a godly mother.

Scripture says, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you.” (Deut. 5:16a NKJV) I know, in some cases this is extremely difficult to do, but this verse comes with a promise. The rest of it says, “...that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” This not only applied to God’s people Israel but applies to us today as well.

If your mom is still alive, honor her this Mother’s Day. Love her. Hug her. If she has hurt you, forgive her; you might just see a change in her. God gave you life through her for a reason. Praise Him for that.

Oh, how I miss my Peculiar Mom. I wish I could tell her once more that I love her and give her one of those bear hugs she loved so much. She was my heritage, my Mother’s Day gift...the greatest gift she ever gave me besides physical life.

Don’t miss out on telling your mom that you love her. You never know when it might be your last time to tell her.

If you do not have a godly heritage from your mother, be the first to start it for your future family. Live out your life as one whose heart if filled with the love of God.

I pray that you become that Peculiar Mom.



This post is part of FaithBarista's Jamwithme Thursdays.

I hope you will enjoy today’s special guest post in honor of Mother’s Day...


Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of Pearl Mother's Day blog series. The series is week long celebration of moms and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia Goyer, Megan Alexander, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Beth Engelman, Holley Gerth, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and more). I hope you’ll join us each day for another unique perspective on Mother’s Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/1-5/8 and the winner will on 5/11. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there! Happy Mother's Day!
Each Life is Unique by Lucinda Secrest McDowell

“God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. II Peter 1.3 (NIV)

Moms, God wants you to know that He has given you everything you need for life --- your unique life. He does not plan to give you what you might need to live the life of your best friend, or your neighbor, or even your favorite mother-model. No, God has called you to the life that He planned. I suspect that for most of us, it didn’t turn out to be the life we thought it might be… so long ago when we were young and dreaming of growing up.

On Mother’s Day, I often recall my own dreams to one day be a mother. I grew up playing with dolls and looking to my own Mama as a model for that particular role in life. However, by the time I reached my thirties, I was still not a mother! God did, however, have a plan. It just wasn’t what I imagined.

My own unique life would find me becoming a mother through the adoption of my first three children who were ages 9, 7 and 4; and then much later giving birth to our fourth child. Of course, I was shocked when God revealed this to me, but I was ecstatic as well. It’s as though I could hear Him saying, “Well, you’re not getting any younger so I’m just going to just give you a jump start with three at one time!”

A huge blessing! A huge adjustment! A joy and a struggle. Change is often like that, isn’t it? We finally get what we want, then we have to deal with it. May I just offer a bit of advice if you just got a great answer to prayer, but perhaps not in the way or form you imagined? Just receive it. Embrace it. And be willing to move forward into a new paradigm for your life. So what if you’re not like all the other mothers you know? So what if you’re not like your own mother? So what if your family unit is different? I guarantee God has a plan.

Not only did He want me to embrace my own story, but He called me as a mother to do perhaps one of the most important tasks of all --- to nurture my children to live their own unique lives. Not for me to try and squeeze them into what I hoped and dreamed they would be. Not for me to try and live my life through them. But to recognize how God made them, gifted them, and called them to their own special place.

All of my four kids are different from one another. Let’s take sports, for instance: I have one child who wins gold medals in international tennis competition, one who is a born equestrian, another who competes nationally in obstacle course shooting matches, and yet another who manages to dance onstage in three inch heels, do cartwheels and splits while singing at the same time. Now, honestly, I do none of these things. And yet they do.

I don’t remember placing my order with God for these things. . But I do remember when that tennis player turned nine years old and I enrolled him in Special Olympics for the first time and how it changed his life… and ours.

I remember getting a counselor job at an exclusive summer camp so that my daughter could take English riding classes. I remember being a Cub Scout leader (even though I knew nothing about boys) so that our son could one day become an Eagle scout and pursue his love of the great outdoors.

And yes, I remember enrolling my preschooler in dance lessons. Later, when all the little girls were scared to go on stage for the recital, she exclaimed that she had endured a whole year of lessons just so she could go on stage.

Don’t compare yourself to someone else. And don’t live vicariously through your favorite reality show star. Live your own story. And Moms, raise your kids to embrace the unique life God has for them.

Remember, He has given us everything we need for life!

Lucinda Secrest McDowell, a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Seminary, is the author of 10 books including “Role of a Lifetime,” “Amazed by Grace,” “Spa for the Soul” and the new Bible Study “Fit and Healthy Summer.” She is an international conference speaker and enjoys being a Pearl Girl from “Sunnyside” – her home in a New England village. Visit Cindy at www.EncouragingWords.net

~~Hope you enjoyed Lucinda’s post.