… remembering the genuine faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and that I am persuaded lives in you also.

— 2 Timothy 1:5

A Christian heritage is the best gift a mother can give her child. Ladies, I hope you will not believe the siren song of the radical feminists who would deprive you of the greatest significance and joy in the world—the joy of motherhood.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush was invited in 1990 to give the commencement address at Wellesley College. Hundreds of angry coeds protested. They were outraged that a woman who had never done anything but rear a family would be invited to speak at Wellesley where, in those sacred halls of higher learning, for a generation or more women had been told that rearing a family and staying at home was an abominable thing to do. But she was, nevertheless, allowed to come and speak. At the end of her speech she said something that I think needs to be repeated. She said: “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent.”

I think that note needs to be rung again and again—that ultimately in life, the things that really count are the relationships we have—first with God, and then with our spouse, our parents, and our children.

Question to ponder:
What is the heritage you are leaving through your relationships?