Countdown to Christmas 2024…Day 6
You all know my husband is a pretty fine man…dad, Papi, friend. He is also a loving son and today we remember the birth day of his sweet mom. She was a mother-in-law who treated me as one of her own and my life is better for her.
Our church made a daily devotional this year and invited some people to contribute meditations to share on the names of the Messiah as foretold in Isaiah 9. Russ selected “Wonderful Counselor” for his piece.
So in honor of D. Margaret Reimer…here are Russ’s words for us today.
Wonderful Counselor
by Russell Reimer
Today is special day in my life as it is my Mother’s birthday. She was born in 1924 and would have been 100 years old today. Born on a farm in Western Iowa, she was the youngest of six children.
I often think of the hardships faced by my grandparents with no indoor bathrooms and only a large metal stove to keep the house warm. Certainly not a manger scene , but a very difficult entrance to the world.
My mom lived to be 91 and I miss her in my life. I have great memories of her and her kindness to me as I grew up. She was a teacher and worked with special needs students for many years. A legend in my mind as she was revered by the families that she assisted in so many ways. She often sacrificed our family time to help her students when a crisis would arise.
I always wish I would have known her as a young adult and single young person living during WWII and teaching in various communities across western Iowa.
She met my dad and got married at age 29.
She gained much wisdom by her life situations and utilized her life skills to be a strong mother who taught full time when many of her peers were stay at home moms. Yet, Mom always took care of my brother, sister, and I. She came from humble beginnings and stayed humble throughout her life. In so many ways, my mother was a counselor to me.
We are so fortunate to have a Wonderful Counselor in Jesus Christ.
He fights our battles and allows us to talk to him throughout the day when the days seem insurmountable. He is always there for us even when we turn our back on him and think we have it all under control.
He engages people in our lives to help us weather the storms of life and he has the best wisdom available. I didn’t always have a relationship with Jesus and tried to do so many things on my own.
He humbled me along the way and grounded me in my faith. I am grateful for the advice he has provided as I have walked this earth.
My prayer is that my family members and my friends have this special Counselor in their lives.
A moment of Mom’s counsel that will forever stick with me was a conversation we had between my junior and senior year of college. In 1980, Laura and I had been together about 6 months and she was away for a week visiting with her parents.
I asked Mom, “How do you know when you are ready to be married?”.
She replied, “You just know”.
I proposed to Laura a few days later.
We have been together ever since.
It was great advice.