The Bravest Woman Of Them All - Marcia Griffin

If any of you have met my husband Jady, you have thought the same thing I thought. "Lord bless the woman that had to raise this man." Jady is fabulous, but was quite the handful growing up. Not only that, but he has two younger brothers. I have heard loads of stories about them growing up. Jumping off roofs into pools, lighting things on fire and attempting to ride bikes through it, climbing up telephone poles and hanging things on the wires... I know for a fact that in heaven her house will be bigger than mine. Perhaps, with a pool. Not only did everyone survive these developmental years, Marcia went to school at nights to pursue her dream of being a teacher. All three of her boys are men. Not simply adults, but men. So, here's to the woman who raised my man.

How do you define motherhood?

Motherhood is among the highest honors given by God. It is a lifestyle dedicated to building the best in others. I suppose if I were interviewing for the job of motherhood, the interviewer would ask about my experience, organizational skills, multi-tasking abilities, commitment, and level of patience; but actually the most important piece to motherhood is my relationship with Jesus. The amount of time, energy, patience, wisdom, compassion, etc needed is in the realm of the impossible without the fuel of the Holy Spirit. (This is Liz, and I would like to interject an "amen")

What are a few of the key principles you held to while raising these three men?

* I consistently prayed they would be followers of God and leaders of men.
* I prayed they would have strong legs to stand when others might be tempted to fall.
* I prayed they would have the favor of God upon them.
* I prayed God would give me wisdom, discernment and boldness to lead, correct and encourage.
* I realized early on that I could not and should not try and protect them from life and the
bumps and bruises they would encounter. I tried to accept and truly believe in the
sovereignty of God. I would fight to hang onto the truth that God is good and His love for
them was much greater than I could ever imagine. When it seemed as though God may have
abandoned them or surely was not looking their way, I would repent of my lack of faith and
ask for God to fill me with His peace as I trust Him with their lives.

You were not able to finish college before your boys were born, but you knew you wanted to become a teacher. So you were a stay at home mom during the day, and went to school in the
evenings often doing homework well into the early morning. How did you do that?

I did attend college in the evenings when the boys were young and this would not have been possible without the love and support of my husband and family. I cared for the boys during the day and Greg would take care of them in the evenings. God's grace and mercy was abundant during that time. I was blessed to be able to fulfill a lifelong dream of being an educator and a full time mom. My boys were always supportive and I am forever thankful to them and Greg for the opportunity.

Any other advice you would give to moms?

The only advice I would offer is to listen more to the voice of the Holy Spirit than to words of any author or book, other than the Bible. I think reading about discipline and raising families is important and I did quite a bit of reading during those years; however, one of my biggest regrets is following the advice of a book over the whisper of the Holy Spirit when my boys were young. If I could rewind those years, I would still read books for helpful ideas, but the ideas would never be allowed to supersede that still small voice of the Holy Spirit. As the boys entered teen years, I had learned that lesson and discovered that God guided me in the right direction every time, even when it seemed contrary to what others were advising. The Holy Spirit knows the interworking of those young men and sees the completed picture. How foolish of me to even think that I could direct their lives with my limited knowledge.

One thing that Marcia has done so well with her boys is distinguish who each one is. They were all raised under the same banner of values, but she left room for them to be different from each other. Jady, Jake & Lucas weren't pushed into a "Griffin" mold, but rather given the room to expand into the personality God had created within them. She was a magnificent developer of the gifts within...she still is. I love you Marcia!