Church Moms

I have been going to church my entire life. I haven’t always been dedicated to every Sunday like I feel I should be, but I would say I’ve served an acceptable amount of time at the pew. In all the time I’ve spent at church I gained many of what people would refer to as church mothers. These type of mothers are near and dear to my heart because my faith and my relationship with God are very important to me and a great church mother has always helped me stay grounded in these principles even when I got lost or started backsliding.

How did I get my church mothers and what have they taught me? Well that’s a lot to get into. I’ve honestly had church mothers my whole life, but I didn’t recognize the role they’ve played in my life until I reached adulthood. As a child my church mothers were the women in my family and extended family who either made me go to church with them when I was under their care, much like my natural mother, or they just simply invited me to go with them to church as a chance to hear a good word. What I didn’t realize as a kid was that these women were watching me be molded by the positive impact that church life was having on me and that they were contributing to the mold.

These church mothers recognized the good and the faith in my heart that I was unaware of myself, so they fed that good because they wanted to see my fruit grow. My church mothers also did a good job at keeping me out of trouble because there was a great deal of it for me to get into if I had not joined them on many a Sunday morning. My own mother, Ruby Lee Spencer was a church mother in addition to being my real mom. She took me and my sisters to church often, but more than anything she would have her own personal Bible studies with me and my sisters every week after dinner. I really learned a lot and grew from these personal teachings with my mom. She taught me what it meant to stay in faith during hard times and that my faith was the key to surviving through all of life’s hard times and pitfalls. Even when I was no longer living with my mother and she passed away I continued to live by these lessons and carry them in my prayers, both day and night.

My late aunt Votia Alston was probably the strongest willed church mother I ever knew. She was in my life forever growing up, but we didn’t get close until I was highschool when she gave me my first job. When I stayed with her helping her on the weekends she was always in her bible and she always went to church, even when her health was in decline. She played a huge role in my return to church as I entered adulthood. She also showed me how powerful faith can be when you never lose it.

It was at the age of 24 that I realized that I had church mothers my entire life. In early 2017 I ended up going back to church on a regular basis after one of my best friends invited me to start going with her. As I began to get close with everyone there one of the women there jokingly reminded me that whenever I got out of line, my church moms would be there to keep me in check. It was in that moment that I realized that I’ve always had church mothers. The same group of women at this church reminded me that I would always have many.

Always and forever will I be thankful for my church mothers. They have poured fruits of good in me that I never deserved but gave it to me because they love me that much. Whether I hear from them everyday or just every now and again, they are always watching over me and giving me unconditional love. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the church mothers out there because you are all blessings that cannot be replaced.

~~Dedicated to all of the church mothers out there. Thank you for your fruit.