It was the eve of my little boy’s third birthday. He was fast asleep in his bed, and I opened my Bible to read a bit before I went to sleep. My Bible opened to the story of Hannah. As I read through the story, my heart was wrenched at the thought of her giving up her three-year-old. I couldn’t imagine being able to do that with my own son. As I went on to read Ellen White’s comments, I gained an even deeper respect for this mother. “During the first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother carefully taught him to distinguish between good and evil. By every familiar object surrounding him, she sought to lead his thoughts up to the Creator. . . . Though Samuel’s youth was passed at the tabernacle devoted to the worship of God, he was not free from evil influences or sinful example. . . . [Samuel’s] early training led him to choose to maintain his Christian integrity.”1

As I thought about what I read, the importance of being a mother overwhelmed me. I remembered all those times I had been too busy for my boy doing other good things. Realizing that a child’s whole destiny can be greatly influenced by the time they are three was another shocking thought. What if I was to give up my child the next day on his third birthday - the thought was awful. There were so many things I could have done better.

There are other mothers in the Bible who we can look up to just as we do Hannah. Remember with me the story of another mother, one whose baby, according to the law of the land, had to be killed. She stepped out in faith and made a basket boat. When the princess found the baby, what could have been a death knell was just the beginning of a beautiful story. This mother only had 12 years to train her boy. Can you imagine sending your 12-year-old off to a palace to be the prince where he could have anything he would want? He is going to be educated by Egyptian priests who will indoctrinate him in all the mysteries of their pagan religion in the most appealing way possible. You are not there every day to remind him that this is all nonsense. He is by himself. Will he stay true? Will he make the choice of following the God of his slave race, or choose to be the next Pharaoh?

When you think of Moses, he did a pretty outstanding job as a leader in Israel. God spoke to him face to face. He wrote the first five books of the Bible. The Jews still revere him as their number one prophet. He was a wonderful man of God. But would there have been a Moses if there wasn’t a faithful mother in Israel? A mother who faithfully and quietly did her job. A job that isn’t appreciated at the time but has the most far-reaching results.

Another story that has recently grabbed my attention is the story of two cousins. We don’t know very much about them other than the fact that they were related and both were the mothers of two famous men - Jesus and John the Baptist. The fathers could have been the cousins but they weren’t. To me this shows the importance of the mother. God handpicked these cousins because they would be faithful mothers.

We have the story of Timothy, a very young man whom Paul was able to trust with great responsibilities. Why could he be of so much use in the early church and be a part of turning the world upside down? Because he had a faithful mother and grandmother. There is no mention of these women doing some wonderful work turning their world upside down, but they did this by doing their number-one-job of being mothers.

In God’s work there is always a need for more workers. As we look around for young people to join God’s work, young people who will be the Samuels, Moseses and Timothys of today, there are so few. Why? Because mothers are neglecting their God-given responsibility to do something supposedly grander.

Many mothers lay the spiritual welfare of their children with the minister. When their children leave everything and go to the world, they claim that it is the minister’s fault. But without the mother doing her job properly, the work of the minister is greatly impeded. It is our job as mothers to aid the minister by doing our jobs faithfully.

As I thought about the things I had read the evening of my little boy’s birthday, tears filled my eyes. I had a new sense of my responsibility as a mother. I asked God to help me be the mother He wants me to be and to please forgive me for the many times I had failed.

Does that mean I became the perfect mother right away? No. I am still learning how to be that perfect mom. But the practical step that I have taken is to read all I can on this very important subject and then try to do something with what I have read. There is so much in the Bible and the inspired writings if only we would search through them and drink them in as if our life depended on it.

Let us dare to follow Hannah’s example.