When I was a little boy, my mother would wake me early to get ready for work and school. Perhaps it wasn’t all that early, but I would be so tired! I remember
her kindly letting me rest (mostly) in peace in the tub next to her while she did her makeup and I got cleaned for the day. It was such a tender kindness,
and one of thousands I can recall at a moment’s notice.
When I was 7 my mom and dad made the wise-but-difficult choice to send my dad back to school to get a law degree. They knew that although things were
tight financially before their degree, going back to school would be extra tight. My mother assumed that she would need continue to work outside of
the home. But, my sister and I were getting older and needed strong role models and teaching. My father told my mom that the Lord would help them financially
if she stayed at home and raised us. So with great faith, my mom stayed home with us. I’m sure we went without a lot for quite a few years, but, I
almost didn’t know it. She was resourceful, intuitive, and could stretch a dollar further than anyone I know. They must have been trying years, but
ones where we grew closer as a family and closer to God.
I cannot fathom how much trouble I would have gotten into if mom had not been home. I think of my neighbors and the other boys I could have spent
more time with. I knew (mostly) what was right and what was wrong, but looking back I had no idea to just how bad bad was.
I am grateful for the values my parents instilled in me. I will forever be grateful that I had a mother who was with me during my formative years,
instead of growing up on the internet or TV.
Raising good people is a lot of work. I know lots of mothers (and fathers!) are tempted to derive their value from working at a big company, or owning
a successful practice. May I submit, however, that the greatest value parents can have on the world is the perpetuation of good people? My mother could
have been a successful CEO (anyone who has seen her work would have to agree). We could have had a lot of money, to be sure. But the greater blessing to
me and my siblings was having our loving and exemplary mother at home.
– David Hillam