Hi, my name is Samuel.

In your culture, this Sunday is Mother’s day.  Wow! What an opportunity to celebrate your Mothers.  A card, a phone call, a visit to recognize what our Mothers have done for us.

My Mother was named Hannah. She believed in God, she went to the temple to pray and she wanted to be the best worshiper she could.  People would consider her a very religious person. She allocated her time to pray and serve our Heavenly Father by being a good wife. Yet, she was sad because she didn’t have any kids. She spent her time her praying and serving our Heavenly Father. She wanted to be a mother so badly that she was sad without a family.

One day, she went to the temple, (her church) to pray to God for a son.

Several months later, Hannah gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, (that’s me) saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

I lived with my family and was loved very much. I heard the story many times as I grew about Mom’s plan for me. Hannah followed through on her promise to dedicate me to God. She took me to the temple to live and Eli promised to take good care of me.

“Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 126-28 NIV)

From then on, I worshipped our Lord there. Every year, Hannah and Samuel’s father visited me at the temple. It was my privilege to pray and encourage my Mother Hannah. As I grew older God granted me the privilege to become a prophet of His people and a leader of Israel.

I’m thankful for my Mother, for her prayer encouragement and dedication.  Here’s my encouragement to each of you this weekend.

Call your Mother, send that note and remind her that you are thankful and praying for her.

Yours in Service,

Laurie D. Kennedy

Leadership Coach

Jethrogroup.ca