What's A Mom To Do?

By the time you read this the election will be over and we will have a new president and no matter who now holds the title of "Commander in Chief," I believe we can all agree on one matter... our country still needs prayer and that's one very important thing a mom can do! As I prayed about what to write this week, I remembered a piece that I wrote in my first book (Prayer Starters for Busy Moms) for the chapter entitled "Prayers That Start With Concern For Our Nation." I hope it encourages you this week and in the weeks to come...

"Your success as a family...our success as a society...depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house." Barbara Bush

She was only sixteen years old when she rode her horse on that dark and stormy night in 1777. Through wooded and dangerous territory she galloped, stopping at isolated farmhouses. Rapping on the door with a stick, she would cry out, "The British are burning Danbury! Muster at Ludingtons'!"

By the end of her forty-mile trek, young Sybil Ludington had "called to arms" the militia that was under her father's command. Her brave actions enabled the soldiers to gather quickly, and ultimately resulted in the British being turned back. Sybil's bold act of courage was instrumental in the very foundation of the freedom that we live with today in America.

There is a statue of Sybil in Carmel, New York, on the path of her "midnight ride." It is a huge bronze rendering of her on horseback, arm raised, stick in hand, calling out her message. The statue stands as a reminder to all that a nation was affected by one young girl's act of bravery.

I learned as an adult that this Revolutionary War heroine is one of my ancestors, and I was immediately inspired by this girl called "The Female Paul Revere." I felt a renewed passion to ride with courage through the darkness of society and sound the alarm to mothers, exhorting them to take pack the power that they have to affect this country by harnessing God's power through prayer. I felt inspired to tell women that we all need to be like Sybil and do our part to hold back that which would seek to overtake and destroy. But then some questions came up for me: How did the Ludingtons raise a daughter of such character? A child that so willingly stepped forward when she was needed? What occurred in her home that caused courage to grow?

These questions brought me to the conclusion that the true "Sybils" in our lives are the children in our midst.

I have not seen a record of Mrs. Ludington's mothering techniques, nor do I even know if they were a churchgoing family. But I do know that 2 Chronicles 20:15 states: "The battle is not yours, but God's."

If we as mothers are to send our children out into the world to affect it, to change it, to bring revival, we must commit to "take up (our) positions" (2 Chronicles 20:17) and seek God. Indeed, in order to accomplish the lofty goal of changing a nation, we must prepare and equip through prayer, one child at a time. As the story of Sybil Ludington shows, even a child has the power to change the course of history.

Pictured above is the commemorative stamp from the U.S. Postal Service featuring Sybil Ludington.

Blessings,
Tracy Klehn