Mother's Day Prayers

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms out there, and especially to my mom, Anne Jones, my wife Marilyn Jones and her mom Marie Steele.  These special ladies are a huge part of my life, and I hope they all have blessed and happy days today.  I wish the same for all of the Moms who read this blog and touch my life in so many ways, especially the young moms who may be celebrating their first Mother's Day.  Yours is a valued and treasured role in the lives of your children, and I shall be praying each of you today.   You carry such a burden.  As Bill Cosby once said, "I may be listed as the head of household on the tax form, but that is a lie.  My wife is the head of this household.  Not only that, but I have seen her job- and I don't want it!"

But today is a special Mother's Day for a completely different reason, and I want to ask for your prayers as well.  When I was in Jr. High and High School back in the Guilford College community just outside of Greensboro, NC, my best friend was a guy named Steve Semmler. His older brother Carl became one of my best buddies as well.  I spent many hours and many nights in their house.  I ate many meals at their family table.  And their parents, Hank & Gene Semmler, always welcomed me.  They were a second set of parents for me during those very important years of my life.  I had actually known Mrs. Semmler the longest of any of them, having had her as a teacher for part of 4th grade, and she was never anything but kind to me.  My own parents were loving and wonderful, but it was still great to have a surrogate family that loved me too.

I have not seen any of the Semmler family in 6 years now, since my Dad's memorial service in May of 2006.  I talk to Steve on occasion and communicate with Carl through email, and I know that they both keep up with this blog.  I heard from Carl this week that Gene, who has been battling cancer for a while now, has taken a turn towards the end.  Hospice has been called in.  I tried to call Steve yesterday to see how she was doing at this time,  but didn't get him.  Regardless of her current status, I would be remiss if I let this Mother's Day pass without a public acknowledgement of how much she and her family meant to me, and how much impact their influence still has on my life.  My prayers are with the entire Semmler family, and I hope yours will be too.

May the love and grace of Jesus Christ be with all mothers everywhere today, offering them the strength and courage they need to carry out the awesome responsibility they have as the backbones of our families.  May God's love for mothers shine through each of us, today and every day.  

Because of Jesus,