I don’t remember much about the day, but I remember the car ride.
I’m not sure exactly how old I was. All I know is I was old enough to be in the front seat, but not yet old enough to leave the seatbelt at the standard height. I had to adjust it lower so it wouldn’t scratch my neck. I was riding with my mom and we were going somewhere. Where, I can’t recall. I do, however, remember the radio was on and the music was turned up. I liked most of the music my mom liked: rock and roll. Perhaps even some classic heavy metal—depending on the band and how “heavy” it was. I still like it. She does, too. And that made rocking out in the car easy, and a must. As my mom drove and the tunes played on, there came a song now infamous for the moment I haven’t forgotten.
The song that came across the classic rock airwaves that particular day made my mom turn off the radio. I was surprised. Even at my young age, I knew the song wasn’t great—as in they could have been singing about something a little better…a little more appropriate. But, turn the song off? Why? It would be over in a few minutes.
My mom answered the question before I could ask. There’s no reason to listen to that.
That’s not exactly what she said. The problem is I can’t remember exactly what she said. I can, however, remember the point she was making. You see, the song that come over the radio when we were in the car that day wouldn’t be considered “orthodox.” In fact, it wouldn’t be considered to know what the word orthodox meant. It was railing against God. It was taunting God. Even more than that, it was blaspheming. And my mom was not going to abide. She was not going to abide because of her love for God. And, because of her love for God, she had no patience for blasphemy.
As I think about that moment now, the most memorable part is that my mom didn’t give me a breakdown on what orthodoxy was and why this song was missing the mark by such a wide margin that she wasn’t going to let it run through the speakers any longer. She simply turned the radio off. The point was clear. The song can be what it wants, but we didn’t have to listen to it.
I’m thankful for my mom—especially on Mother’s Day—because of her automatic reaction to an offense toward God. She had and has no time for it. She won’t be a part of it. And, because of her example, I won't be apart of it either.
Therefore, to you mothers out there that aren’t mine. I want you to know clearly the impact you will have on your children. They are watching you. And they are eager to put into practice what you demonstrate before them. You are a greater example to them than you will probably ever know.
Go ahead and show them what it looks like for a mom, like mine, to love God and have no patience for blasphemy.