The Value of a Godly Heritage
As we approach Mother’s Day again this year, I am reminded of the godly heritage I was privileged to grow up in.
As a little girl I grew up on a farm (see picture above) in Indiana. All the years I was growing up, my parents traveled around the world doing evangelistic meetings. This required them to be gone months at a time, so I lived on the farm with my grandmother and great-grandmother. I watched my grandmother take care of her mother and was privileged to be loved, cared for and prayed for by both of them.
After my great-grandmother passed away, we moved to Florida, and my grandmother came with us to live. I was then a teenager, and my parents were able to be home more as they headed up a winter Bible Conference in Boca Raton for four months during the winter. In the summer months I traveled with them until school started again for me.
My mother and my grandmother both contributed to my spiritual up-bringing, showing me through their lives the power of faith, dependence on the Lord and the importance of seeking God’s guidance through prayer every day, not just when there was a problem.
When I went to college, my grandmother wrote me a letter every day I was away. She would tell me news, give me a Bible verse and remind me she was praying for me. I would check my mailbox each day at college, and there was always a spiritual, loving letter for me. She continued writing to me through graduate school and even after John and I were married. She only stopped when she was not well enough to write anymore. Just think of all the time it took her to write those letters and how much I would have missed them! She provided a security for me I would not have had otherwise.
This is the third Mother’s Day without my mother. It is strange not to pick out the right card or gift to show her how thankful I was for her and how much I loved her. She lived with John, Michelle and me the last fifteen years of her life and I count it a privilege to be able to have had those years with her.
I feel that not only can mothers but also grandmothers play a huge role in children’s lives. Their godly wisdom and prayers are so important for our children to see! I know I am eternally grateful that our daughter, Michelle has been able to benefit from their wisdom and prayers!
I wish for each of you, mothers, who are reading this a wonderful Mother’s Day. Thanks for letting me share what I trust is a little encouragement for you from what I have experienced.
Darlene Ankerberg
Great stuff – the LORD Bless…..
Love this, Darlene. Thanks for sharing.
Miss your mom. What a legacy, indeed!
Thank you Darlene, my Mom and here mom as well as my fathers mom, were all great encourages to me. I will never be a grandmother but I pray for my children and grandchildren as well. My constant prayer is that my life will reflect our Lord Jesus to all I rub shoulders with. – Des (Australia)
This was truly inspirational. MY mother, gone now 10 years, would always pray for me. Your story reminded me of those precious memories. God Bless you.
Thank you, Darlene, for sharing these precious memories. I, too, was blessed with a wonderful mother and grandmother. I was so privileged to spend time with my grandparents when mother
accompanied daddy periodically on business trips. They lived in the country which I loved. She was a very kind godly woman. I remember seeing her reading her Bible when she took a break from her work in the afternoon, and also how fervently she prayed. Both mother and grandmother have been gone for years now, but their love will always be with me. I thank God for both of them.
Thank you Darlene for sharing. I did not know either of my grandmothers, but I was raised by my mother and my father who were honest, hard-working people who loved their family and other individuals in the circle of life. Fortunately my daughter spent a great deal of time with my mom (her grandmother) and also my father who was quite elderly by the time that my daughter was born. My parents had a powerful impact on my daughter’s life and also the other grandchildren. Today my daughter has children of her own, and she regularly involves them in the lives of others, especially elderly folks. There is so much wisdom to be gained from the lives of others. I was especially touched when my 15 & 1/2 year old grandson while in high school became involved in the Health Occupations Organization. Because the local skilled nursing facility was having a hard time recruiting and maintaining care givers in the facility, they made an arrangement to provide Certified Nursing Assistant training for the students interested in the health care field. At the end of the training, the students were given the opportunity to become employed. My grandson and three other students from the high school took the opportunity for part time employment. At the time I had family members in the facility where my grandson and the other students worked. It was wonderful to see their interaction with the residents and their families. Thank you again for sharing about your mother and grandmother. What a blessing it is to know that we will see them again and be able to be with them for eternity. Happy Mother’s Darlene.
part of where we come from makes us who we are now , you and John are good people and that tells much about your upbringing
Thank you, Darlene. What a beautiful story of your past and how fortunate you were to have such great Christian models in your family. — Not all of us were that fortunate. Some bad memories linger in my mind. My paternal grandmother was the better Christian influence of all my family. She read her Bible and prayed everyday, and told me that she prayed that I would find a good husband (for refuge).
We attended a legalistic church which gave my brother and I an unloving concept of God. I came across The John Ankerberg Show on Daystar about seven years ago and have been watching it since. There’s a genuineness about John and most of his guests which is refreshing to watch.
What a beautiful story! It touched me deeply. Thank you for sharing it!