Watchful Eye

 

“How did you know that?”  This was a question I often heard from my children.  They always seemed astonished that I seemed to know when they went astray.  It could have been doing something they should not have done or not doing something they should have done (and that was usually around the dreaded chore list)!  My common response to their question was, “I have eyes behind my head!”

As they grew older, the watchful eye I had when they were small followed them into their teens.   Not only was the watchful eye out when they missed curfew, but it was also out when they achieved high-reaching goals and solidified sibling relationships.  The watchful eye continues to be with them, even if they are no longer living under our roof.  It may have moved from a watchful eye to a keen ear – noticing a tone in their voice or a hesitation in their speech on a phone call, but the keen ear will move to a face time call and an eye for their hurt.

I remember my mother providing that watchful eye for me.  She ensured I was not hurt when I was a little one.  That same watchful eye was there guiding me down a path of independence and self-reliance.  It was my mother’s eye that led my eyes to the Word of our Lord and a faith that continues to grow.  Without my mother’s watchful eye, I would not have learned how to have that watchful eye myself.

Eve.  Sarah.  Rebekah.  Hannah.  Elizabeth.  Mary.  Ruth.  All wonderful and famous mothers in the Bible.  I love going back into the Word to search for those incredible role models from Biblical times.  They truly inspire in wonderful ways.  Many of them had that same watchful eye.  The mother that utterly amazes me is Jochebed. Her name is mentioned once, yet Jochebed had the key role of Moses’ mother!  Talk about a mother who loved her child, loved him enough to send him down the Nile River to safety.  Knowing that her son was in jeopardy of murder, she put him in the basket towards Pharoah.  We know the story from there – she becomes Moses’ caregiver, and the rest is truly history.

As a mother or caregiver, our watchful eyes are with our children throughout their entire lives.  May we be grateful for the mothers and role models of the Bible and the watchful eyes they had on those that grew to be Biblical heroes – and our Savior!

Dearest God, thank you for providing mothers’ watchful eyes to see all the goodness of their children, ensuring their safety, and helping to guide them in Your Word.  Amen.