All the goodness of a good mom comes from You, Lord, and is another reason to sing Your praises.
You perfectly formed mom to bear us before we are born,
…to nurture
…to hold
…even to be sick in the morning if that is what it takes
…to bear the pain of childbirth and lovingly hold the source of that pain immediately afterwards.
Once born, You perfectly made mom to continue in that nurturing,
…to feed us,
...to rock us to sleep,
…to sing the perfect lullaby,
…to clothe us,
…to play with us,
…to celebrate our birthdays and have friends over and bake cakes and light candles,
…to pick us up when we fall,
…to bandage our scrapes and kiss our bruises,
…to comfort us when we fail,
…to wipe away our tears,
…to encourage us to try again,
…to be our biggest fan,
…to discipline us when we rebel,
…to correct us when we do wrong,
…to redirect us when we stray from the path You’ve laid out for us,
…to KNOW when we are straying,
…to NOTICE when something is not right, even when we don’t say anything,
…to be a sounding board for ideas,
…to be a counselor when other kids are mean,
…to help us with our homework,
…to make sure we DO our homework,
…to be a steady influence during our roller-coaster of hormonally-fueled emotions,
…to help us navigate romantic relationships,
…to help us in the little everyday decisions (“What should I wear?)
…and the big decisions (“What am I going to be when I grow up?)
God, thank You for my mom, Jo Joyce Shackelford.
I’m blessed beyond measure because You gave me Jesus for a mom.
Mom showed me unconditional love,
She loved when it was hard and would not complain.
She loved with no expectation of return,
but when that love was returned, oh was she blessed!
Mom was well named because these three letters were present in her name: J. O. Y.
Mom was joy-filled,
…joyful in serving
…joyful in teaching
…joyful in worship
…joyful in hospitality
…joyful in cooking
…and even in the cleaning up afterwards
…joyful in the mundane things of life
…joyful in dirty diapers even!
…joyful in remembering stories with family and friends
…and laughing! Oh! How she loved to laugh.
Her joy was best expressed in movement. That’s why all who knew her well remember her "jumping for joy” - especially her grandchildren.
Mom was a great mom because she was first a great wife,
…and a great daughter
…and a great daughter-in-law
…and a great sister.
She was truly selfless.
She allowed relationships to trump her own desires and her own agendas and her own to-do lists.
She put others first day-in and day-out.
I believe mom’s greatest gift to me was her amazing ability to be fully present,
…not caught up in worries about the future, though she would worry from time to time,
…not consumed with regrets about the past, though she sometimes felt she should have done better or more.
She was in the here and now, with me (or whomever else she was with at the time).
When I was sharing something, I knew she was listening,
not just hearing, but really listening,
…digging in deeper if she didn’t think she understood you,
…asking questions,
…and more questions.
She wanted to really understand because she really cared.
Growing up, I just knew that mom would be there when I needed her, fully there, fully engaged.
Mom was a great mother-in-law.
I loved how she loved my wife and how my wife loved her back.
As great as mom was, I think was an even better grandmother, “Mamaw", if that is possible.
I loved seeing her love my children,
…helping us with our first newborn,
…giving them little baby-baths,
…her facial expressions and “bulupluplups" to get their little baby faces to smile,
…smelling their little baby feet and loudly exclaiming, “shoooweee!” to get them to laugh.
Mom was prayer-full
…and her prayers had power because of her righteousness in Christ alone.
When I left home for college and struggled in my faith, she was praying.
When I was contemplating other religions and new age philosophies, she was praying and those prayers kept the seeds of Truth firmly rooted - seeds that she had helped plant deep in my soul all through my growing-up years.
Her prayers protected me, I know, during my freshman year heading down I-80 through Nebraska, hitting black ice at 75 miles per hour, spinning around and flying off of the highway and not even finding a scratch on the car. Somehow, I knew mom had been praying for me and that was why I was alive. I knew it even though, at the time, I wasn’t sure I even believed in that stuff.
Her prayers kept me from doing really harmful and stupid things when I had no real faith that would have kept me away from those opportunities.
Her prayers led her to give me just the right book and just the right time, “No Wonder They Call Him the Savior”, when we crossed paths in Italy the summer after my freshman year in college.
Mom loved to travel and see the world and she married the right man for that passion. Oh, how they saw the world!
She loved everyone the same regardless of social status, background or the color of your skin.
Mom loved the Lord passionately.
When she songs, hymns and spiritual songs, that previously mentioned joy overflowed and was contagious.
Even in the dark valleys, she let joy shine through.
When she was diagnosed with Alzheimers, her response, without delay was, “Well, that’s okay because I’ve had a wonderful life."
She worked so hard to remember the names of her small army of children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren so she could continue to pray for them.
In her last cognizant prayer she said over and over, “Jesus, I want to walk with You and talk with You."
Even when she could not remember anyone’s name, even her own, she remembered the name of Jesus.
In the death of my mom, You were present. Thank You
You answered my prayer in taking her from her frail mind and body and bringing her home.
You celebrated her homecoming.
You jumped for joy right along with her.
You answered her prayer, because I know she is walking with You and talking with You
…and I bet she’s talking with you about us, her children. That’s what mom’s do.
