A Woman of Influence

Day eighty

I am very blessed to spend this whole week with my family.  We are hoping to use our time to do some spring cleaning and to have some fun!  I cannot express how much I love my family, we are quite the team.  So my prayer this morning was about gratitude for my family and all the blessings that they have brought to me, and a request that we may always be there for each other!

I started my scripture study in Chaper 28 of Genesis.  This chapter picks up where chapter 27 ends, with the concerns that Jacob be safe and also that he would marry appropriately.  Isaac agrees with Rebekah and sends him back to Haran to look for a wife. I thought about how hard it would have been for me to send my son away.  Did Rebekah know that this would be the last time that she would see Jacob? If so, that would make it even harder to let him go. Could I have done what Rebekah did?

There is more to this story than Rebekah trying to save Jacob from Esau's threat.  Remember that she is a spiritual woman and looks to God for guidance (Gen. 25:22), she receives revelation from God (Gen. 25:23), and her actions reflect her desire to do God's will (Gen. 27:46).

Bruce R McConkie describes Rebekah as: "One of the strongest personalities in all scripture."   

"What a marvelous example Rebekah has set for all the women of the Church. Not only did she pray and get personal revelation when she needed it, but she so influenced her husband and her son that they did what was necessary so that Jacob married in the Church and, with his beloved Rachel, gained eternal life as a result." (Bruce R. McConkie, "Mothers in Israel and Daughters of Zion", New Era, May 1978, 35)

To be a wife and mother like Rebekah, willing to sacrifice for the good of her family, is something I strive for.  I want to be a women of influence and be a positive example.  What powers of influence do mothers have?

Power of prayer. 

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Power to lead them to God.

"The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms."  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Power to teach gospel principles.
Forgiveness
"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."  ~Honoré de Balzac

Love
"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."  ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul


These are just a few ways we can be women of influence.  I hope that those that will look at my life will see that the things I did were for their benefit and were in tune with God's plan. I have made plenty of mistakes along the way, but there is a positive to this too, it gives others a chance to learn from my mistakes.  Besides, Rebekah wasn't perfect either, but she still managed to influence her family for good and to achieve exaltation.  There is hope for me too!