Washington Irving, writing about mothers, said: "A father may turn his back on his child; brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies; husbands may desert their wives and wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world's condemnation, a mother still loves on, and still hopes that her child may turn from his evil ways, and repent; still she remembers the infant smiles that once filled her bosom with rapture, the merry laugh, the joyful shout of ... childhood, the opening promise of youth; and she can never he brought to think (her child) all unworthy."

Men like to think that they run the world. They don't. Mothers do. Mothers are the molders and makers of each day. We remember the ways that Mother helped us prepare for the new day: counseling, advising and shaping our attitudes each morning. We instantly recognize the truth of these words spoken by another wise wife and mother: "The wife and mother usually hoists the sails of the family ship every day. We determine whether those sails shall catch the breezes of God's love and understanding, or the winds of bickering and discord." That same woman adds, "When a man succeeds, he does so by climbing a ladder steadied by a woman who believes in him" (E. Stanley Jones).

Timothy's every day was molded by his grandmother and mother. Paul reminds Timothy that he has been given a steady ladder which will guarantee his success -- the sincere faith transmitted to him by his mother and grandmother. Paul also reminds Timothy that he has within him a gift -- a spirit of power, love and self-control. Where do children learn of the Spirit's power, or the power of love, or the power of self-control if not from their mothers? Think for a moment what we learned from our own mothers. Was it not they who taught what it means to be a loving person, or what it means to be loved?

Here is an interesting bit of trivia: William Frederick Dunkle Jr. has pointed out "that of the 69 kings of France only three were really loved by their subjects and that these were the only ones reared by their mothers instead of by tutors or guardians. Whatever ability most of us have to make others love us is largely due to the love our mothers put in and around our lives."

How did Eunice and Lois prepare Timothy to exercise self-control, to have the kind of self-confidence that allows one to put to use the power of the Spirit, and to love and be loved? Paul reminds Timothy that they did it by making known to him the holy scriptures from the time of his infancy (2 Timothy 3:15). Mothers, take note! Grandmothers, take note! Scripture is God's powerful tool to influence children's lives for good when parents and grandparents do the teaching!

How powerful is the teaching of scripture in the lives of our children and grandchildren? Note again what Paul said to Timothy: