"Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother" - Charles H. Spurgeon

Taking time off from my usual post on the Sunday readings (to resume on Wednesday), this Mother's Day I am thinking about my late mother and how blessed I was to have been raised by such a godly woman, even if she did keep an autographed copy of  "Beyond Anxiety" a 1953 book written by the late  Bishop James Pike.  in her library.

Nobody is perfect, not even my dear mother, but I owe so much to her for raising me in the Church, teaching me patience and the value of listening, and many, many other things.

The following is by Charles Spurgeon presented with a tip of the hat to Tolle Lege,

"Fathers and mothers are the most natural agents for God to use in the salvation of their children. I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother.
Neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of 'mother' is creation's blot.
Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother.
Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me.
How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent. Others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me.
How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, 'Oh, that my son might live before Thee!'
Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory,-- that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities.
And her smiles have never faded from my recollection,-- the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel."
--Charles H. Spurgeon, The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Vol. 1, 1834-1854 (New York: Fleming Revell Co., 1898), 68-69.