Press Forward

Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil: 3:13-14

This scripture was my mother’s motto in life—to press toward…”the high calling of God. My father was a minister and, no matter where we lived, Mother consistently reached out to those in need. In my early childhood we lived in a rural community. Times were hard.

Mother had some training as a nurse and often went to homes to care for people. Even though we lived in the country, transients found their way to our door and Mother always fed them good, nourishing meals.

During the war, we lived in a small town. Mother befriended two young women who were new to the community and shunned by the townspeople who considered the newcomers to be prostitutes. Both were married to servicemen and the husband of one of them was killed in the war. Mother went to see them, offered them friendship and acceptance, and invited them to come to church.   Although they didn’t come, their children began to attend Sunday School  regularly.

Mother always loved children. She read to them, told wonderful stories, and invented little games. In her eighties she cared for the beautiful little daughter who lived across the street while her mother, Liz, an immature, flirtatious, narcissistic young woman was at work. Mother didn’t preach to her, but as their relationship developed, Liz began to get new insight into her role and responsibilities as a wife and mother.

Wherever she lived, whether in the country, a small town, or a city, Mother worked to develop a sense of community among her neighbors. She visited them and was interested in their lives; she helped them in time of need; and she invited groups of neighbors into her home for coffee and fellowship. It was all a part of her pressing toward what she felt was the “high calling of God.”

Mother wasn’t a saint. She had faults and foibles as all of us do. But she never stopped trying to live her convictions. I received a letter from her shortly before she died. She wrote, “I’m tired,” and I knew that meant she was ready to move on. Thus the scripture from Paul’s letter was the theme for the celebration of her life—“I press forward.”

Prayer: Dear God, Help us, every day, to forgive ourselves for past sins and to press onward in our quest to do your will. Amen.

Marie Fischer (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotional, 2008)