A Mother’s Protection…(Guest Blog)

Today, a talented young writer, Joelle Denoff, is guest blogging – I wanted to share her wisdom and her love with all of you. May you be blessed.

I recall as a child always looking to my parents for protection when I felt vulnerable or scared. Specifically my mother. She was blessed to stay at home with my brothers and I while my Dad provided for all of us.

Most children have fond memories of their mother being their protector and the person they could run to in time of need. I wasn’t any different. However, in the midst of my teenage years, protection felt more like restriction. I was old enough to know to not do things like touch a hot stove top or run out in to traffic. But there were other dangers. These became a burden for my mom that led her into being an even more intense prayer warrior. (Sex, drugs, alcohol, gossip, greed, jealousy, trust in the wrong people, etc.) The list could go on forever for a teenager – not to mention driving a car with all the other crazy motorists on the road!

I wasn’t the extremely careful  type and many of the previously listed transgressions plagued me on a daily basis. And guess what? A mother knows. She knew about the dangers and pitfalls of all of these things. Turns out she was also a real person – one that had been young and mostly unprotected at times.

I was blessed to be raised in a household that sought God’s protection on a daily basis, and this was passed down to me as well. You see, even though quite a few of my mom’s attempts to protect me were thwarted by my rebellious and curious nature, God was still there to fill in the gaps. That is ultimately the prayer of a mother’s heart. Where she cannot protect, God will take care of the rest. I put myself in countless situations where the outcome would have been far less than favorable and yet, I believe, that through my mother’s steadfast prayers, God’s protection always won out against my own path. And it always will.

There have been times where I sought God’s protection myself and surely felt it. Whether in the midst of some situation or shortly thereafter, I knew that I could seek God and He would be my shelter. “You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance,” (Psalms 32:7 NICV). The reason that I knew that God was my best and safest source of protection was because of my mother. She not only exemplified who God was in her protective ways, but she also bound that protection on me through daily Scripture readings. She knew that through repetition and the Holy Spirit, I would remember that I could run to Him for protection.

A mother’s love is so intertwined with her need to protect her child. Now I am acutely aware of this – for I have a child of my own. Though we have many years to look forward to (he is only six months old), I find myself already constantly praying for protection over his body, mind, and spirit. “Love ALWAYS protects” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV) My prayer for my son is that he will be a quicker learner than his mother – or maybe he won’t have to learn nearly as many lessons as I did. I pray that wisdom will be with him early, through the knowledge passed down from his mother.

Ultimately, protection is God’s gift to every mother that seeks it for her child. It doesn’t always look the way we would like it to, and it certainly doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen. But it does mean that your child is not lost forever. God’s love and His protection is the ultimate Mother’s Day gift for me.