A Mother’s Influence Never Ends {Wednesday with Wanda}

Welcome to my first Wednesday with Wanda post of 2011.

If you are new to my blog, you may be wondering about the title of this post.

Let me explain.

My mom’s name is Wanda.

mom

She will always be the most creative, inspiring, and Godly woman I have ever known.

Her well-lived life ended on September 22, 2009 after a short, 7 week battle with Stage 4 Gastric Cancer.

Shortly after her passing, I began sharing a post each Wednesday about my amazing Mom as a way to document her life for my 4 young sons to remember her by.  Writing about Mom also helped me with the healing.

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My last weekly post about Mom was September 22, 2010.  But I still want to take the time to occasionally share with you more about my precious Mother.

So here I am now, beginning another new year without her.

I cannot hardly believe we just celebrated our second Christmas without Mom.  And though Christmas was full of laughter and joy, it will never be the same without her.  No one did Christmas like Mom!

I still miss her terribly, and there are so many things I need to talk to her about right now.  She was a great listener and encourager.  The best.

However the pains and aches of losing Mom are not as strong and not as frequent as they used to be.  Everyone kept telling me it would get easier.  And it has.

That’s the part I don’t like.

When people used to tell me that, it would almost make me mad.  I didn’t want the pain to go away.

I wanted the burning ache inside my chest.  It was in that painful place that I felt the closest to Mom.  The pain was evidence of what  a big part of my heart she had touched.

But I know God does not want us to stay in that painful place.  He wants us to learn and grow from it and move on.

And Mom would want that too.

One thing that I have learned since my mom’s passing is that your mother’s voice is always with you.  I hear my mom in my heart all the time.

Her words of advice.

Her words of encouragement.

Her silly sayings…”Huggy Buggy!”

Her off-key voice.

I heard her singing this past Sunday in church. It took my breath away.

The service was over and we were asked to stand for the last hymn.

The piano began to play an old familiar hymn, “Have Faith In God”.

As the first verse began, I heard her.  Singing at the top of her lungs.  And I was taken back to that precious place in my childhood.

The place where I stood right beside her holding her hand as she sang.

The place where I looked up at her, in her beautiful Sunday dress, and smiled as she looked down at me.

I heard that beautiful off-key voice every Sunday as a child.  But I also felt the strength and faith in that voice.  She meant every word she sang.  She clung to each one.

As I was taken back to that time in my life, when my Mom was planting seeds of faith in my own heart, my eyes began to fill with tears and my heart longed to hear her sweet voice just one more time here on earth.

My oldest son was standing beside me, and he saw the tears on my cheeks.  He grabbed my hand and leaned his head against me.  He knew I was thinking of Mom.

And then I realized.  It’s my turn.

It’s my child…my hand he’s holding…my faith that he sees…

What will he remember?

I pray that he hears and sees in me the same strength and faith that I saw in my mom.

It made me realize how our Christian influence  on our children as mothers is not only while we are living, but even when we are gone.

And I take comfort in knowing that long after I am gone, he may still my voice in his heart.

Before I go, here are the words of the hymn I heard Mom singing…

Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely.
He sees and knows all the way you have trod;
Never alone are the least of His children;
Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your prayers are unanswered,
Your earnest plea He will never forget;
Wait on the lord, trust His word and be patient,
Have faith in God. He’ll answer yet.

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow,
His heart is touched with your grief and despair;
Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him,
And leave them there, oh, leave them there.

 

Have faith in God though all else fall about you;
Have faith in God, He provides for His own:
He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish.
He rules. He reigns upon His throne.

Refrain:

 

Have faith in God, He’s on His throne,
Have faith in God, He watches over His own;
He cannot fail, He must prevail,
Have faith in God, Have faith in God.

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I also wanted to let you know that I have added a page at the top of my blog for all of my Wednesdays with Wanda posts.  If you scroll to the very top and look above my header, you will see it.

Many of you have asked me to direct you to an older post I had written about Mom because you couldn’t find it.  So I wanted them to be all in one place.

If you click on that link, it will take you to a page with all of the posts about my mom in order from the very first one to the most recent.

If you were not following my blog, please take a minute to read some of my mom’s story. She was an amazing woman, and I think you will be blessed.

Thank you ALL for traveling on this journey with me!

God Bless You!

27 Comments

  1. Hello, this is my first visit to Wednesday’s with Wanda. How inspiring! I will read more of the older posts later. I had to tell you that that song is one of my favorites. I have 8 grandchildren and I am striving to impart God’s ways and wisdom to them. I know that sometimes now they don’t really listen but I have planted seeds in their hearts since they were babies and when the time comes, God will use it. thanks for an inspiring post.

  2. After being a silent reader for the past few months, I just had to tell you that I found my very first Goodwill treasures yesterday. The candle lanterns just needed cleaned up and the candle holder/mirror/metal scrolled wall-hanging thing (for lack of a specific name) just needs a good coat of black spray paint. :) As I was walking out of Goodwill, I found it funny that I felt the need to tell you, even though I don’t know you outside of your blog. Thanks for the inspiration to be a woman following God and loving her home and family.

  3. Wow- your mom sounds amazing :) Makes me think of my grandma. Maybe I should write some posts about my Grandma on my blog. She’s been gone several years now, but I still miss her terribly. Thank you for sharing your heart with us.

    Semalee@ Nailing Jello to a Tree

  4. I’m so glad you blogged about your mom again-I’m lucky enough to have mine but my dad has been gone for 19 years and although it is easier, it is so different-still-I find myself telling funny stories about my dad, especially around the holidays when all my siblings are together. As we get older, one of us always shows abit of a quirkiness of dad’s and it puts a smile on our face. Your tributes to your mom show how much love she showered you and your family with and it’s lovely to read about-thanks, Claire

  5. With tears flowing, I am grateful to you for the gentle reminder of how important it is to raise our children trying to live as righteous in Christ as possible as an example that lives on even after we’re gone. What a wonderful tribute to your Mom. Cherish your memories.

    And your kiddos are soooooooooooo cute.

  6. Your post was the first one I’ve read today, and it touched my heart. I’ll be sure to read the rest of your Mom’s story; thank you for posting.

  7. Happy New Year Traci!
    Stopped by your blog this morning and got a big smile on my face when I saw your title and the pic of your mom.
    Your mom left you a wonderful legacy and I think you are doing a great job of passing that legacy on to your own children.
    Thanks so much for always being such an encouragment with the posts you share about your mom. I know I have been blessed by them more than once.
    I am so glad you decided to place all her posts in one area. Since we moved I have been meaning to frame that poem she wrote that you shared with us. Now i can hopefully find it since you have them all in one place.
    Have a blessed day!

  8. I’m so glad you are continuing to share your Mom with us! :) I look forward to these posts – I’ve said it before but in a way I feel like Wanda is mothering us all… and I don’t know about anyone else, but I know I’ll take all the help I can get! :)

    Thanks for sharing her with us.

    Emily

  9. I really enjoy your stories about your mother. Like you, this Christmas was the second Christmas without my mom. I love it when you say, “your mother’s voice is always with you. I hear my mom in my heart all the time.” That is so very true! The second anniversary of my mother’s death is next week and I hear her voice and her laugh all the time, just as you describe hearing your mom sing in church. How lucky we are to have had such wonderful mothers.

  10. Bless you and your sweet mother, Traci. I love your Wednesday with Wanda posts. They always make me think of a fun story about my dad. Thanks for your support when he passed.

  11. Hi, Traci,, your posts about your mom always touch me so deeply. I pray that Im leaving that impression on my kids and hopefully grandkids one day. Thanks for sharing so intimately with us all. You’ll probably never know how many people you have helped with struggles of their own through your beautiful heartfelt writing. Hope you have a wonderful new year… Ill be following along with organizing heart & home.

  12. Just yesterday I was thinking I sure miss Wednesday with Wanda, and then lo and behold a post. I can’t tell you how much your post touch my heart. It’s like a hug from God. I know it sounds weird, but that is how I feel. Just want to thank you for sharing your Sweet Mama with us all!!

  13. Oh, honey, I found myself singing, “. . . He’s on His throne; Have faith in God; He watches o’er His own. . .” as I was reading your post. It’s the truth! It was truth as your mother sang it, and it’s truth as you sing it (on key).

    God bless you, dear friend.

  14. As always, you made me cry! I didn’t read this earlier because I just knew I would. I am missing my grandmother today, who passed away 12 years ago on this date. She was my friend, comedian, and biggest fan, and I miss her still, every day! Beautiful post:)

  15. Thank you for this beautiful post. I love your blog and I especially love your posts about your mom. They inspire and encourage me as a mother and a woman. How blessed you were to have your mom. Women like her bless their children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors- and, as we’ve seen on your blog, even strangers. I’m so sorry you didn’t have more time with her. My heart aches for you whenever I read one of your posts about her. Thank you so much for sharing her with us.

  16. God Bless You for keeping your wonderful mother’s memory alive. Each one of your Wanda posts brings me to tears. I aspire to be the kind of mother yours was.

  17. Beautiful! Thanks for allowing us to share in your memories of your mom! What a great lady & a true inspiration for all us mom :) You are truly blessed & your boys will be doubly blessed too!
    XOXO

  18. How great to see your Wednesday with Wanda posts back! I love that you can still hear your mom’s voice! I can still ” see” my Dad studying his Bible with his black reading glasses on and it’s been 34 years almost! Precious memories!

  19. I cannot wait to meet your mother in heaven!!!! What a wonderful wonderful lady she is, yes, IS even now as we all get to learn so very much from her life!! Thank you, as always, for sharing her with us!!

    His,
    Mrs. U

  20. I remember my Momma’s beautiful alto voice. She was the one who taught me to sing. As I sort through the bad memories of the last few months of her life, slowly and surely the good ones like this one are starting to surface. Posts like these help me so much, Traci. Beautifully written.

  21. Traci,
    That post is simply beautiful and oh how true! Wanda would be so happy and proud at the way you honor her spirit and her heart! I am so proud of the beautiful woman and mother that you are and how you are encouraging others. Love you so much!

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