The following reflection for Mothering Sunday is in two parts, connected by interwoven threads. Debbie Thrower and Rachel Turner consider the precious gifts passed down through the generations and the call to see ourselves through God’s eyes.
19 March 2023
God’s mirror
Debbie Thrower
My late mother would have been 104 this year. She lives on in my thoughts, of course. Though she died in her late eighties, back in 2008, I still catch myself absentmindedly thinking, ‘I must ring and tell her that,’ or musing on ‘how much she’d have enjoyed this’.
With the birth of our second grandchild this past year, I so wished she could have seen Corin and his sister Edith and been here to see my daughter (her only granddaughter) becoming such a super mother herself.
It was during a course I was leading at Cliff College on ministry among older people that a story I told about my mother prompted a student to write a poem.
I recalled my mother entering a lift one day in her care home and catching sight of herself in the mirror. Poor Mum didn’t like what she saw, I’m sorry to say, and she muttered: ‘Keep death off the road.’ She was referring to a poster she’d remembered from the 1940s which featured the pale face of a mourning widow, captioned ‘Keep death off the roads – Carelessness kills!’
Here is the poem Catherine Clowes wrote on hearing the story:
A different mirror
The mirror set before you is to you a powerful thing
All that once was young and supple is now old and withering
And you cannot bear your image, that’s not who you are inside
Makes you want to turn away, find a corner in which to hide
But to me that same reflection shows such beauty to behold
It shows someone who has a story, not a person that’s just old
Every line and every furrow show me just how much you’ve cared
All the love that you have given, all the pain that you have shared
You have so much still to offer, so much wisdom still to give
Through your insight and experience you can show us how to live
All your life you’ve given so much for the ones you hold so dear
Be it practical provision or a hug or listening ear
And I wonder if you’ll let me show you a mirror with a special glass
One that sees everything about you, knows your future and your past
It is God’s mirror you must use so to see your true reflection
It is there you’ll see your beauty, held so dearly with affection
The God who formed your being says ‘you’re fearfully and wonderfully made
There’s a place that waits just for you, there’s no need to be afraid
In my Kingdom you are royalty, you’re a Prince or a Princess
I have clothed you with a robe and crown. My love’s constant never more, never less
When I look upon your image I see the beauty I have formed
My dear child, so loved completely, grace and mercy on you I’ve adorned’
So I ask you will you join me, see yourself through God’s own eyes
He sees deep into your precious soul where your beauty truly lies
— Catherine Clowes, published with kind permission.
On Mothering Sunday, we may reflect on the continuity of motherhood – the love that is passed on from generation to generation – and also celebrate the overwhelming truth of our precious identity. However we may feel about our own looks as we get older, our identity is forever safe, in Christ.
Eunice the discipler
Rachel Turner
I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.
2 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)
We read a lot about the role of one generation upon another in scripture. God commands each generation to share stories with the next, and to bring up our children to meet and know him.
As the apostle Paul was writing to his younger friend Timothy, he pauses to acknowledge that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were significant in this generational passing on of the knowledge and love of God.
Every generation is significant in the lives of future generations. No matter what age you are, you are needed in the spiritual lives of those around you. If you are a parent or grandparent, you have been given significant influence in the spiritual lives of your children and grandchildren.
‘Everyone needs someone older than them to tell stories of who God is and what he has done.’
In my work with Parenting for Faith, we have seen over and over again that it is never too late or too early to start influencing and encouraging the faith of your children, be they 60 years old or six months old.
If you are not a parent, there are children, teens and younger generations who need your influence just as much. Everyone needs someone older than them to tell stories of who God is and what he has done. Everyone needs someone older to believe in them, welcome them into friendship, and share life and laughter. Everyone needs someone more senior who will pray for them and love them.
Generations of faith-filled women
If Paul recognises and praises the power of generations of faith-filled women upon the future leaders of the church, we can be assured that our influence will shape the church now and in the years to come.
As the apostle Paul was writing to his younger friend Timothy, he pauses to acknowledge that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were significant in this generational passing on of the knowledge and love of God.
‘Just be the authentic you, living your life with God and open to helping the next generation know him.’
Share your stories and where you see God in the world. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be the authentic you, living your life with God and open to helping the next generation know him.
Father, give us favour in the eyes of those younger than us, that we may help them meet and know you. Remind us of the stories of what you have done in our lives, and who we need to share those stories with. Amen
Debbie Thrower (left) is the pioneer of Anna Chaplaincy for Older People. A former broadcaster, Debbie leads the national network of Anna Chaplains and others in equivalent community-based roles.
Rachel Turner founded Parenting for Faith and is the author of many BRF books as well as a regular contributor to our Bible reading notes. Her reflection on Eunice is taken from Day by Day with God.
The Mirror That Speaks Back
For more on finding one’s true identity, you might like to read Anne Le Tissier’s The Mirror that Speaks Back: Looking at, listening to and reflecting your worth in Jesus.
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