If you don’t know Laura Boggess yet, make haste to her blog. She is one of the most beautiful, lyrical, deep writers I know out here in the blogosphere…and in print! Reading Laura’s recently published book, Playdates with God
, was an exercise in contemplation and serenity for me. I lost myself in her mesmerizing prose, and I know it’s a book I will return to time and time again. Today, Laura graces us with a story about her mother, her faith heroine. This one gave me a lump in my throat, friends – it’s a beautiful testament to the power of faith and prayer. Join me in welcoming Laura today (and for further reading, don’t miss this guest post she wrote here just a month or so ago).
Text by Laura Boggess
When I was six or seven years old, I had a girl-crush on Wonder Woman, aka Lynda Carter. I waited eagerly each week for a new episode of her adventures, pretending in the meantime that I could repel bullets with my cool gold bracelets or make my brother tell the truth with my magic lasso.
It seemed to me that a heroine was someone larger than life, who had special powers and fought off evil at every turn. And maybe looked good in tights. I didn’t have a lot of real-life heroines. There weren’t many people in my young life that saw much worth investing in. But my mother prayed with my siblings and me every night. She did the hard work of taking four young children to church three times a week. By herself.
However, not long after my infatuation with Wonder Woman my parents divorced and our church family turned their backs on us. Life changed drastically and we became unmoored, drifting. I was angry with God. I was angry with my mother. It felt like she wasn’t protecting us. It felt like evil was winning. No dodging these bullets.
But my mother still prayed.
It’s taken me a long time to understand what kind of courage it takes to maintain faith in the midst of the hard places in life. To hold on to the thin wisp of belief when our human frailty rises up within us and we make mistakes—this takes strength. To bend low and let grace cover the past; to truly believe that God made us for new beginnings … I’ve seen my mother do this with the purest humility.
As I read through 50 Women Every Christian Should Know
We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be larger than life. We don’t have to be these things because God is. And though my mother and I still disagree on many things when it comes to faith, she lived this lesson for me and demonstrated how a heart can hold on through incredible darkness.
That’s why my mother is my faith heroine. Not because she is larger than life or has demonstrated superpowers. But because she has been unafraid to offer her broken self to a loving God, over and over again. That’s the kind of heart I want. That’s the kind of faith I need.
Though I still wouldn’t mind having one of those magic lassos.
Author of the recently released Playdates with God: Having a Childlike Faith in a Grown-up World, Laura Boggess lives in a little valley in West Virginia with her husband and two sons. She is a content editor for TheHighCalling.org and blogs at lauraboggess.com. You can connect with Laura on Facebook andTwitter.
This post is part of the My Faith Heroine Series in conjunction with the release of 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith
I love this, Laura. To read of your mother’s tenacity, her faith, her prayers. Her “being unafraid to offer her broken self to a loving God, over & over again.” That kind of thing sticks with a child for all of life. I did not have a mother like that, but I certainly had a Grandmother like that. Gramma Jessie is my faith heroine. Seeing her reading her Bible, and praying quietly, every morning. And her words, oh her words. “Jesus. loves. you.” I shall never forget her faith, and she lived with a very stern, nasty man every day, my Grandfather. Yet, she had joy. She had fun with me. She did not let things get her down for long. She made me feel so loved and cherished–something I did not know with my own parents. I KNOW she prayed. For me. And God answered her prayers, long after her death in a horrendous car accident. I cannot wait to meet her again, in the sweet by-and-by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Thank you for the warm remembrances today, Laura.
Your Gramma Jessie sounds like a very special lady, Jillie. What a gift to have such person in your life. I’m sorry her time with you was cut short, but, yes, we have this hope of that wonderful reunion to come. I’m grateful to share with you today and for any sweet memories my words evoked. Much love to you, my friend.
This is lovely, Laura. My perspective on my mother has changed so much in adulthood. I miss her more and more, now that I have a teenage daughter. I need Mom’s advice!
I know what you mean, Megan. God keeps changing the way I see so many things regarding my relationship with my mother. And you know what? Mostly it’s because she keeps waiting. Patiently, and lovingly. I know the holidays must be bittersweet for you, missing her so. I’m grateful for the ways she shaped you into the beautiful person you are. I know she must have been some kind of wonderful because of that.
This is just wonderful, Laura. And as I read it, I couldn’t help but remember earlier posts (maybe four years ago?) when perhaps not all of this truth had come to you yet. This is a beautiful testimony not only to your mom, but to the ongoing work of God’s grace in you, my friend. Thank you for this.
Thank you for this reminder, to offer my broken self (& broken heart) to a loving God, over & over & over & over again! I don’t want to become bitter but better; an often frail & weary sojourner in recent years but a women of faith none the less in a God who is able and never leaves my side! I want to be remembered as a mother & women of faith.