Feature Friday

Congratulations, you made it through another week in the lovely world of motherhood! As most of you know on Fridays we take time to feature Saved M.O.M.’s . There are so many wonderful mothers that don’t get the recognition they deserve. I am proud to say that this week’s Feature Friday is dedicated to Ellen Samuel. She currently resides in Hayward, CA. Ellen has such a lovely and radiant spirit. She recently retired from the Social Security Administration and has devoted her time to assist in caring for her grandchild.

Ellen has attended church all of her life. In our interview she shared, “When I was a little girl I went to church every Sunday. I loved the Lord and I loved learning about Him.” She gave her life to Him at the age of thirteen during alter call, at Bethany Baptist church in Baltimore, MD. She said. “I just wanted to belong to the Lord and give my heart to Him.” After receiving salvation she learned more about God gradually. She knew that God loved her and that He would be with her. Ellen attended Sunday school and church but didn’t really learn about what salvation meant until her adulthood.

When I asked Ellen what being a Saved M.O.M. means to her she explained, “Being a Saved M.O.M. means that I am following Christ, loving Christ and reflecting him in my walk so that my children and others will see Christ in me. I asked her to share her favorite scripture with us. She has many scriptures that she often reflects on, but the one that came to mind was Philippians 4:13.

I want to take a few moments to share a testament of Ellen’s love and selflessness. Her daughter and son-in-law embarked upon the calling of parenthood last year. In the midst of enjoying the new phase of her life in retirement, Ellen made an awesome commitment. She decided to move to California so that her grandchild would not have to go to daycare for the first couple of years of his life. I asked her what prompted her to do such a selfless thing and she explained, “It’s love that makes me help and I know the type of struggle it is when there is no one to help. God has afforded me the opportunity to be retired at this time and I am honored to be able to share my time with my daughter and her family. It pumps me up and energizes me to know that the Lord is allowing me to be there.” She went on to say, “It’s hard work, but God is allowing me to do this. I could be cripple or deceased but God has made me capable of doing this and it’s such an honor.” She told me that if it weren’t her daughter’s baby, she probably would be doing it for someone else’s child. She shared, “God made me with a mother’s instinct. There are so many people from teenagers to adults that I have assumed the mother role for and I am grateful that God allows me to do this.”

Ellen wanted to leave us with these words…”Motherhood does not come with instructions so you really need to align yourself with saved moms that will be there during the challenging times. Rest assured that God will be with you always and you will make it through. It’s good to be around others that will help you and lead you to Christ when you fall. God wants you to get up, turn around and seek Him during these times. Read His word and study His word, He is there and wants us to succeed and do our best. As long as we are down we won’t see those things that He has in store for us.” It was put on her heart to share these scriptures for you to study and reflect on… John 17:23; Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:3, 9; Psalm 9:9-10; and 1 John 1:9.

Be sure to tune in Monday for more words of encouragement and inspiration for M.O.M.’s near and far! Share this blog with as many people as you know (www.savedmom.com), we have so many lives to touch. Feel free to post a comment and/or subscribe (if you are reading this from your inbox visit the site address referenced above to post a comment).

Mommie Blessings,

Shonte’ Press