It all started in the mountain state so near to my own heart. Anna Jarvis began to send carnations to her local church in Grafton, West Virginia in honor of her mother. They were her mother’s favorite. Anna never had children of her own but she set something in motion for generations of children to come.

Miss Jarvis enthusiastically lobbied for a holiday to honor mothers in the United States. By May of 1914 President Woodrow Wilson had signed the resolution declaring the second Sunday in May, “Mother’s Day.” The idea was actually not Anna’s. It began with her mother.

Mother’s are powerful people. They wield more influence than can be stated. Abraham Lincoln declared, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” That is not just true for presidents.

This week I had the opportunity to be back in West Virginia with my own mother. Home is filled with laughter and precious memories. God has been exceedingly good to me. I am convinced that so many of the Lord’s blessings upon my life may be attributed to the faithfulness of my parents. They sowed. I am reaping.

My testimony is best summarized in the words of David, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (Ps. 16:6). For this I feel both very grateful and very responsible. On this Mother’s Day would you join me in…

• Thanking God for the heritage you have been handed.

Like me, perhaps you have been blessed with godly parents and a good heritage. Give God the glory. He has shown kindness that neither you nor I deserve. Once you have thanked God for His goodness, thank your parents for allowing God to use them in your life!

Any of us could have been aborted. We were allowed the opportunity to live and to be loved. More than that, we have been taught the truth. Spiritual men and women have taught us and shown us what it truly means to be a follower of Christ. We have been given “the heritage of the servants of the Lord” (Isa. 54:17).

• Committing to God the legacy you will leave.

Gratitude must lead to action. Ours is a relay race…and it is our turn. We must carry the baton and pass it on to the next generation.

At this special time of year I honor my mother, my godly grandmothers who are with the Lord, my mother in law, my aunts, and a host of other women who have influenced my life. Yet my thoughts are not only on the past, they are on the future. God has given me another wonderful gift – my wife Tammy. It thrills me to know that she is now passing on the goodly heritage we have been handed to our children.

I hope someday our children will be able to speak about us as we can about our parents.

Are you unable to see a godly line in your history? Then begin one. Let the future generations look back at you and say, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.”

Mom, thanks for giving me more than life. Thank you for teaching me about the Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank you for “a goodly heritage.”