Throughout my mother’s long 94½ years on this earth, she walked along paths of righteousness as God led her—not for her own sake, but for the glory of God and to help others. She lived as her mother (my grandmother) had lived before her.

At my grandmother’s funeral in 1980, Mother wrote and read these words about her mother:

When our mother was a young girl, she accepted Christ as her Savior and gave her life to Him. From the time of her conversion, she had a deep desire to walk in fellowship with Christ and live a life of obedience to God’s Word. She taught her children scripture and tried to mold their lives in a way that would please Him.

She knew what a disciple really meant and faithfully followed the Lord simply because that was her deepest desire. Because of her prayers, there are many today walking with God and exercising a life of prayer themselves. The ministry at church and the missionaries all over the world were always her deepest concern. She always “in honor preferred another” before herself and would extend herself and her physical strength if she could do something that would help someone else. Today her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren pay her tribute. They too know Christ because of the faith that she had and in answer to her prayers. Her own works praise her—and will continue to—until that day when we will all stand reunited in the presence of our Lord. When Job lost all that was dear to him, he bowed his head and worshipped God. We too, must worship and thank Him for allowing our mother to spend many years on this earth and now, in His sovereignty, called her unto Himself.

Two generations later, we can apply these very words to my own mother. From my grandmother’s generation to my mother’s generation, to my generation, and then to my children and grandchildren’s generations, we’ve witnessed the awesome grace of God. And we’ve praised Him from one generation to the next. In our family, that is five generations of grace and praise!

It is wonderful to have been raised and nurtured in a Christian home. As a young girl I wrote in my Bible a verse that has always been in the corner of my mind: “One generation will praise Thy name/works to another” (Psalm 145:4). This verse has remained in the forefront of my thinking as I have raised my children and prayed for them and for future generations. I am thankful for the legacy of faith left by my parents and grandparents.

Mother was always serving in some area at church—teaching teen girls in the 1960s and 70s, and later in life, Pioneer Girls, and her dear friends in the Joy Class. She was a student of God’s Word, always with a table full of study books to help her prepare the lessons. I never saw her in despair or panicked, and I never heard a harsh word come from her mouth. She just walked her entire life in paths of righteousness to honor her Lord and Savior. As her life neared its end, she was ready to be with the Lord. After a few months of fading life and health, she went to her heavenly home on Sunday evening, November 20, 2016. She arrived in eternity—in the presence of her Savior.

At Mother’s funeral, we chose to read the closing paragraph of what she had written and read at her own mother’s funeral. It expresses what we were feeling at the passing of our mother:

We say goodbye with sadness for ourselves because of our loss, but with gladness and hope because of the blessed future we look forward to when we will be together again, where there will be no parting—and united, we will praise Him who so abundantly gave us this blessing of a “Godly Mother.”

Both my grandmother and my mother were Godly mothers who praised the Lord’s name/works from their generation to the next. May we in our generation—and every generation that follows us—praise the Lord and walk in paths of righteousness as they did.

Debbie Molnar lives in Saint Augustine, Florida with her husband, Dave, of 50 years. Her daughters, Jacqueline (and three grandchildren) and Jennifer, live in Saint Augustine as well. Debbie is a church ministry assistant and also plays the piano at her church. She is thankful to the Lord for her family’s legacy and all His blessings.