I can so clearly remember seeing my mother reading her Bible and The Upper Room and other devotional books and watching her pray. And when I was a teenager, she told me she also saw her mother doing her daily devotionals, too, As a young wife and mother -- and then as an Air Force officer . . . and in other jobs until and beyond the time I answered the call to ministry I had first experienced as a six year old child, The Upper Room and various study Bibles were the doorways that opened up the spiritual reality in which the Holy Spirit revealed God the Father and sweet Jesus, His only begotten Son to me. So when I read the devotional below, it touched my heart.
That was also enhanced by the descriptions by the writer whose heritage is Armenian. One of the neighbor mothers in our lives was an Armenian woman named Mary who was born and raised in the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem. She was our piano teacher and the mother of our last baby sitter before our brother got old wnough to watch us. She wnd I have been blessed to stay in touch as adults and she has always been a wonderful encourager and me tor as well as friend and big sister. We both miss each other's moms , who loved each one of us, both of them.
SEEDS OF FAITH -- The Upper Room Devotional
'Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.'
"And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. [Matthew 19:13-15 (NRSV)]
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"Train the children in the way they should grow. When they are old they will not depart from it."
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My parents were of Armenian heritage. My mother’s name was Zabel, or Isabel. I give thanks to God for my parents and their legacy of family prayer.
I remember with fondness each night when my mother would place a worn carpet on the floor. She, my father, my three siblings, and I would sit in a circle as my mother read a daily devotional. Then she would open her Bible and read the scripture in her language. We all listened attentively. We would offer our reflections, and then my mother would ask us to join in a prayer.
Today I begin each day reading a portion of scripture along with the daily devotional from El Aposento Alto, the Spanish-language edition of The Upper Room. The meditations and life experiences of our brothers and sisters around the world enrich my life. I treasure the seeds of faith my mother planted in us — the discipline of devotional reflection, Bible reading, and prayer. Her great faith continues to inspire me and keeps me centered on God’s will for my life.
The Author --
Rebeca Boyadjian Fahmazian (Uruguay)
Thought for the Day --
How might I plant the seed of faith in others?
Prayer --
Creator God, thank you for the teachings and guidance of those whose faith has created the foundation of our own spiritual formation. Amen.
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