The 1000 Moms Project: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…”

 

I started reading Proverbs 31 this morning, intending to revisit the “wife of noble character” passage, but I couldn’t read a word past Proverbs 31: 8 – 9:

 

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

This isn’t the first time I have read these verses, but it is the first time that I read them in the context of verse 1:

“The sayings of King Lemuel – an inspired utterance his mother taught him.”

I can just picture his mom holding onto his chin and saying, “Lemuel, don’t forget this. When you are the most powerful man in the kingdom, you can’t forget about those who cannot speak for themselves. They are important too. Don’t forget.”

And I think about the critical role that we as mothers take on as we bend and shape the lenses that our kids look at the world around them. We teach them how to respond to the hurts and needs of the people around us, and that becomes part of their genetic makeup, their knee-jerk response.

Over at A Holy Experience, Ann Voskamp is asking 1,000 people to stand up and thank their moms publicly, sharing the gifts and sacrifices that they made, and in return, they will fund a Maternity/Child Survival Program in Haiti for a whole year. It is an amazing real-life example of taking our blessings and using them to bless others.

But it isn’t my first example. My Mom, like King Lemuel’s mother, not only sat me down and told me how important it was to look out for others, but she showed me through her example. She has x-ray vision when it comes to seeking out and taking care of the needs of others. A temporary home for a friend and her infant son who had nowhere else to go, lavish gifts for families that can’t afford them, substitute motherhood for a friend’s daughter after she passed away from cancer.

Even today, in the midst of chronic pain, she constantly looks for ways she can provide for the people around her, and it challenges me to pass down that vision to my kids. How do I teach them to see…truly see the poor and destitute, hear those without a voice, and take care of the needs around us?

It starts with a simple post about a mother’s gift that provides for a woman and child in Haiti.

It starts with a plea to the Holy Spirit to sharpen my own vision to see the needs around me and use my voice to speak for the speechless.

It continues with me being an example to my kids, speaking Truth into their lives and then living it out.

And someday, my kids will hopefully pass down this vision to their families, carrying on the tradition of Lemuel’s mother and our family’s history.

Thanks Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.