Food for the Journey
June 15, 2020
Story of Faith by Marcia Lothner
As I thought about my faith story, I realized my faith story has everything to do with my mother. In her long life of 97 years, she treated each day of her life as, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.” Her example has inspired my entire faith life, because it was clear God was at the center of hers.
She started sharing her faith with us when we were small children and she would read to us Bible stories every night before bed. We loved hearing those stories! She continued to show us how faith inspired her entire life. There are two examples of how her strong and unshakeable faith inspired me.
First, when my mother was only 48, my father died suddenly and unexpectedly of a massive heart attack. My mother was left with four children, the youngest of whom was just 10. My mother visibly held onto her faith as she faced this huge bereavement. She grieved, but with the confidence that the Lord would sustain her, and as we, her children watched, we became very aware of God’s presence among us as we traveled that difficult path.
The second example of God’s presence made known, was when my mother was dying, and we were all gathered around her bedside. Our pastor had just arrived and anointed her forehead. God’s presence shimmered in that room as He welcomed this good and faithful servant into heaven. I vowed to never forget that shining moment of God’s real presence among us.
Mothering God who gave us birth, we give thanks for all those who have witnessed to your presence that we, too, might believe. Amen.