The Greatest Lesson My Mom Taught Me

Today is my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! In honor of this occasion, I will share in this post the greatest lesson my mom ever taught me. It did not take a long time to figure out which lesson to write about, this one has been in the front of my mind sense the very beginning. It is also apt because it is also so close to Thanksgiving. The greatest lesson that my mom taught me was about being thankful.

My mom has always made a big deal about being thankful. Ever since I was a kid, I knew that my mother’s favorite hymn was Count Your Blessings. To this day, whenever I sing that song it makes me think about my mother. I guess the one thing, though, that makes this lesson stand out to me, is my mom’s treatment of Thanksgiving. If you know the King family at all, you know that we LOVE Thanksgiving. No matter how separated me are throughout the year (I live in Georgia, my parents and brother live in Maryland, and my sisters live in California!) we always are able to gather ourselves up together for Thanksgiving. Not a single one of us has missed Thanksgiving as a family yet; I know that someday we will not be able to say anymore, but for now, that is impressive. My mom says every year that she is planning on scaling back on the food, but every year seems like she makes more than the year before! As soon as we wake up in the morning there are cinnamon rolls ready to eat and all day long there are “appetizers” on the table, including things like pumpkin roll, shrimp dip, crab dip, buffalo chicken dip, and many other dips, cheese ball and crackers, and the list goes on and on. And then, of course, later on in the day, we stop eating the appetizers in order to give our stomach’s some room for Thanksgiving dinner. Every year, my family has a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, with the turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potato casserole (AMEN!), and others. As I write this, I feel like such a pig! But I promise, it gets better. Thanksgiving is not special for my family because of the food. Yes, the food is awesome! And it is definitely a perk to being there, but that is not what our Thanksgiving is about. Our Thanksgiving is about a turkey made out of construction paper. Did I lose you? Let me explain. Every year, my mom cuts out “feathers” from colored construction paper and sends a feather to each extended member of the family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, some people I don’t think I have ever met) and asks them to write down what they are thankful for on the feather and then mail it back to us. On Thanksgiving day, those of us that are there also write our own feathers. When we are done eating the dinner, we stay at the table and dad brings a turkey made of construction paper into the dining room. We all get the same amount of feathers, and we read out loud what every member of the family said. The feathers go onto the construction paper turkey and when it is all done the turkey looks full and fat with feathers.

I cannot remember when that tradition started. It is something that we have done every year since I was just a little kid. That tradition has brought about some of the greatest memories that my family has ever had: There would be some years when it seemed like everyone in our family had gone through some serious trials and we were all in tears as we read our feathers about how thankful we are for God’s goodness, one year a turkey feather announced my wife’s pregnancy to the family, almost every year brings laughter as we read the feathers. I am even getting a little emotional right now as I think of all the great memories I have from doing that. What’s the point? Now that I am older, I understand why my mom went out of her way to make sure that that tradition was done. She was trying to instill in us a heart of thankfulness. My mom taught me that even when the future looks bleak, that even when I do not know what the future holds, I still have so much to be thankful for.

Thankfulness is missing in most of our homes and churches. Yes, we say what we are thankful for around the dinner table on Thanksgiving day, but for the rest of the year we act very unthankful. A lack of thankfulness expresses itself in griping, complaining, never having joy, not being a soul winner, and not being holy. The truth is, if we all determined that we would be more thankful to the Lord for everything he has done in our lives, it would transform the way that we live.

Here is the problem though, it comes naturally for us to complain about our problems, and it is unnatural (or supernatural) for us to be thankful. Dr. Rasmussen, at West Coast Baptist College, always says, “Thinkfulness is Thankfulness”. Do you want to be a thankful person? It requires you make a conscious effort. It isn’t just going to happen; thankfulness requires that you put some effort into it. As the song says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” 

I am so thankful for a mother who has taught me all throughout my life that being thankful is an important part of my walk with God. My challenge to you today is to Count Your Blessings. It really will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Don’t forget to check out the other lessons my mom has taught me:  Meekness Is Not Weakness, and Home Is A Haven.

Be sure to check out Calvary Baptist Church

Lessons My Mom Taught Me- Meekness is not Weakness

Fragile. That is not a good word to describe my mom. Now, some of you who think that you know my mom are reading this and thinking, “Of course she is fragile! She is sweet, sensitive, and a bit quiet.” Well, I hate to tell you this, but you don’t know my mom. It takes great fortitude to be a pastor’s wife. There are many women who cannot handle the pressure and hurt their husband’s ministry because of it. Being a pastor’s wife is MUCH harder than being a pastor. I can say that because my mother is a pastor’s wife and my wife is a pastor’s wife. I have seen and experienced firsthand this truth. My mother is not fragile, my mother is not weak. I think Hollywood has tricked modern society into thinking that in order for a woman to be strong, she needs to be loud and boisterous. First example of this that comes to my mind is Lois Lane in the Superman comics. Whenever Lois walks into a room, she takes control. She is pushy, always gets her way. Most people would look at Lois Lane (if she was a real person) and say, “That is a strong woman!” And maybe she is. But can I tell you a strength that is often overlooked? Meekness. The word “fragile” is not a good way to describe my mom, “meek” is. What does it mean to be meek? The Biblical idea behind meekness is twofold, the first part is speaking of humility and the second part is referring to weakness. You might say, “Pastor King, look at the title of this blog. You are saying that meekness is NOT weakness.” Correct, because meekness as a Christian is not simply being weak, but also gaining strength from Jesus Christ. Understand, every single one of us is weak, but it is the meek person who understands that they are weak and need to take on the strength of Christ. Do you know something that is very difficult about being a pastor’s wife? Knowing about people who mistreat your husband but still loving them and being kind to them. Knowing that someone said something overly cruel to your husband but then going up to them with a smile on your face and love in your heart on Sunday anyway. That takes strength. Some people would say, “That person hurt me, I’m just going to hurt them back. They don’t deserve my kindness or love!” That person is reactionary and weak. The person that can bite his tongue and continue on loving is the strong person.

I have seen my mom hurt many times. Whether it was someone saying a cruel thing about my dad, or about one of us kids. Whether it was someone being overly cruel or harsh to my family. I have talked to my mom on several occasions where she was in tears. But never once have I seen her angry. And that speaks a lot of her strength.

Many Christians can learn from this. Why are we so quick to lash out? Why are we so quick to act out in anger? Truly strong people are the ones who decide not to fight back, but instead decide to continue to love despite the bad treatment they endured.

Isn’t that what Jesus did? On the cross, one of the things he said was, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Who was Jesus speaking of? The people that beat him, spit in his face, whipped him, and nailed him on a cross to die! But Jesus did not act out in anger, he didn’t call fire down from Heaven to destroy them all, instead he loved them. One of the most Christ-like things we can do is to love those that have hurt us. Yes, it is meek, but it is also very strong.

My mother is one of the strongest women I know. Yes, she may be quiet at times, she may not like speaking in big crowds, she may be sweet, and yes, she may even be a little sensitive at times, but my mom is not fragile. She has great fortitude. She is meek. And it is the meek people who, in reality, are very strong.

Stay tuned for next week’s post- The Greatest Lesson My Mom Taught Me!

Check out Calvary Baptist Church.

If you missed my first post in Lessons My Mom Taught Me, check it out- Home is a Haven.

Last thing, I promise. In the beginning of 2015, I am launching my new book “Sermons from the Life of Abraham” on the Kindle. Stay tuned for its release. In the meantime, check out my book Sermons from the Book of Haggai.