Influence

Erin over at Home With the Boys has done some posts on influence recently.  She challenged us to share this week about someone who influences our lives.

One of the most influential people in my life is…..my Mom!  I truly don’t think I had any idea how much she had done for me until I had my own child.  You just don’t understand the sleep deprivation of having a newborn, sacrificing your time and sanity etc.,  just by hearing about it.

My Mom did the majority of raising my siblings and I.  And now that we are grown up, she spends hours with her grandkids.  She could easily fill her retirement years sowing her wild oats.  But, she has chosen to give the gift of her time to her kids and grandkids.  And also to kids at various churches that she does childcare for.

Growing up, we never had much money.  But my Mom had some money in retirement accounts when she retired.  And she has chosen to spend a chunk of that money on her kids/grandkids.   Again, there are a million things she could have done with that money (including spending at least some of it on herself), but she has chosen to be generous with what she has stored up here on earth.

I am learning so much about generosity right now.  I just completed a devotional on generosity that my pastor wrote and I also just completed a Bible Study on the book of James.  Both of those, coupled with my Mom’s wonderful example, have really put a desire in my heart to be more generous.  With my time and money.

Thanks Mom for all you have done and continue to do and for inspiring me as a Mom and child of God.

To check out other people’s posts on influences in their life, go here.