A Lucky Mom

We’ve all had those moments. Those moments, as moms, when our kids do something or behave in a way that shows you, even for a fleeting moment, that they have been listening to you. When someone leans over and says, “You’re a lucky mom!”

To know your kids are on the right track…it feels like a pat on the back, a high five, and a highly sought-after compliment. I haven’t ever won a Pulizer Prize, an Academy Award, or a Nobel Prize, but I’m assuming that the feeling of winning one of those is the same as it is to raise human beings to successful adulthood.

And when someone compliments the job your own mother did, it definitely feels like that compliment is two-fold – meant for you, in addition to her. Jesus receives such a compliment, too, from a woman who was part of the many people followed him, who saw that Jesus was different from the other rabbis and teachers of the law.

your mom is a lucky mom!

She is one of a crowd of people that day, following Jesus and listening to him speak. Jesus has just cast out an evil spirit that had made a man unable to speak. The majority of the crowd is rightly amazed at what they had witnessed. A few lean over to each other, whispering that he obviously casts out these demons by the prince of demons. Knowing their thoughts and their under-their-breath comments, Jesus calls them out, pointedly addressing the issue.

Through all of this, our woman has been watching and listening. And I wonder if she herself is a mother, someone who understands the work and sacrifice of raising children into adulthood. Because she calls out to Jesus in the midst of his illustration, almost interrupting him, saying “‘Blessed is your mother, who gave you birth and nursed you!’” (Luke 11:27 NIV) She essentially shouts, “Your mom is a lucky mom!” – a praise to both Jesus himself and his mother.  

Jesus, while sensible of the compliment, sees a teachable moment. He chooses to redirect her attention and that of the crowd to what it is that brings true blessedness. He smiles, and replies, “‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’” (Luke 11:28 NIV)

true blessedness

Because ultimately, his mother Mary had the opportunity to raise the Son of God because she heard the word of God and obeyed it. Blessed are those who are obedient to what God says, to what he asks, to what he commands. And what are those things he commands? The greatest one, found in Matthew 22:37-40, is to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, and to love others as yourself.

So, blessed are you when you hear the word of God and are obedient in the seemingly small, insignificant things. Blessed are you, fellow mom, when you choose love and when you teach your children to love. Blessed are you when you serve, when you choose to forgive, when you demonstrate grace.

Let this day, this week, this year be a blessed one. One where we make it a point to listen so we can hear the word of God. Where we not only hear but put it into action. Let us be a reflection of our Father and His love to a watching world. Let us be among those considered blessed.