This is such a sweet testimony from an 80 year old woman who mothered 20 children. It is a beautiful picture of a family that trusted the Lord to supply all their needs. May this provide encouragement to those who might be struggling financially during this current economic downturn. We serve a mighty God! Thanks to Rosie (whose testimony we shared here, for interviewing Rosella). This is part of our Titus 2 Talk on the topic of being workers at home.
Rosella, an 80 year old mother of 20 children
Rosella’s white hair framed her kind eyes. She leaned forward in her favorite rocking chair and gave a dimpled smile when I asked her about being a stay-at-home mom. I was eager to hear the advice of this “seasoned” saint, who, with her husband Jesse, had raised 20 children (eleven biological and nine adopted).
“I believe that as a mother, staying at home was the best means for me to teach my children about God and invest in them in order that they would grow up knowing about God and strong in the Lord. Sometimes women work when they need money for necessities like food. (Once, I did some ironing in my home to bring in some extra money.) But lots of times, women work for ‘things’. I mean stylish clothing and new toys for the children for example. You don’t have to have the best of everything.
“There’s a lot of joy in teaching your children to pray for things, then watching God provide.
I’ll share some examples:
“Once one of our children wanted to learn to play an instrument, but we didn’t have the money. So we prayed about it. A neighbor traded us a violin for apples from our apple trees.
“Another year we didn’t have much money. Jesse loved hunting. He’d hunted everyday during hunting season. We needed the meat, so on the last day of hunting season I told the kids to pray for Daddy to get an elk today. When I saw his truck coming I yelled, ‘Hey kids! Come down and see Daddy’s elk!’
Rick, one of the older children said, ‘Don’t be so sure.’
I said, ‘Don’t be so doubtful.’
“So we met Jesse and he had a big elk in the back of his truck!”
She went on.
“I’ll tell you the story about the shirts. Once Jesse’s construction company laid him off just before Christmas. At the time, we had six children under seven. I was too busy to think about helping with the income!
“Jesse’s shirts were worn out around the wrists and the collar. We didn’t have the money to buy him a new one, so I asked God to send a shirt for him for Christmas.
“I fully expected God to answer, either by sending money or a shirt. But Christmas eve came and I sent the children to bed. ‘Lord,’ I prayed, ‘how come you didn’t give me a shirt? I only asked for one and you have millions.’
“At midnight that night, we heard a knock on the door. Some friends brought in several boxes of toys and clothes. Included in the boxes were 30 shirts, used, but in good shape, and straight from the cleaners, wrapped in cellophane. We pulled them out. They were all Jesse’s size!
“God provided for us many times when we prayed. Our children learned to trust Him for their needs.”
Wow, that’s my Grandma! I have heard these stories many times. I can’t believe this is on a blog that I like to read. My Grandma is an AMAZING woman. She is the true definition of a servant, and she makes excellent cinnamon roles!
Thanks so much for the happy tales of a simpler time. My husband and I have a dear older couple in our lives that we have visited periodically throughout our marriage and the couple years preceding, and we’ve been so strengthened by what faith, trust, and persistent commitment to a simpler, non-materialistic life can do throughout a lifetime. We both feel more capable somehow because we know they’ve done it!
When my marriage broke up because of my husband’s alcohol and abusive behaviour I was forced to go to work fulltime. I have 3 children and I find it hard to keep up with everything I need to get done. Your post reminded me that God responds to simple faith and to rely on Him for all my needs. I hope one day to remarry and to be able to come back home full time.
Just what I needed to hear! Thank you for the encouragment!
I love hearing testimonies like these!!! Children never forget these miracles the Lord provided!!
wow that is amazing! anyone who has raised 20 kids is an inspiration to me! thanks so much for sharing!
This is challenging. It is important to know the proper limits of self-denial and be open to things we need. I have been too frugal in the past and regretted it. We bought an inexpensive house in an effort to live fully “within our means” (as if any debt such as a mortgage qualifies), and found ourselves very sick, living in a mold-infested house which was going to be difficult to sell. But God provides. And I realize now what a good thing it is that we went through so much tribulation. On the other hand, there are times when quality really does count and is hard to get for cheap.
I am blessed to be part of this family, married to one of her son’s for almost 31 years. She is now 85 and the real deal, as this story shares. She is an amazing woman. When her children were at home, she was the first one up and last one to go to bed. Her knees are used often as she is on them praying for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
She makes everything from scratch, known for her cinammon rolls and she loves to extend her hospitality to others. Still today, she simply amazes me. Mom is the “Proverbs 31″ woman. She needs to write a book of her journey.
Beautiful testimony. Thanks for sharing it.
Blessings,
Elizabeth
beautiful! i would love to hear more too! God is so good!
Thank you for sharing this sweet woman’s testimony!
I would also love to hear more from her:)
So, encouraging!
Thanks for sharing! I would love to hear more from her!
What a beautiful testimony. I have seen God provide in various ways when things were tight. I chose to trust Him to provide, and He always has.
What a sweet testimony of our God’s goodness!
I cherish the wisdom of older godly women! Thank you for posting this testimony of a woman who can practice what she preaches!
What a beautiful testimony and poignant reminder for these economically difficult times. Thank you!
Wonderful.
Such an amazing story!
I think that our generation (those in their 30′s) have lived their whole lives having everything they’ve always wanted. Our mothers were feminists (at least mine was!) and worked outside the home and were very proud of it. And they paid for everything we needed/wanted. They didn’t stay home with us and teach us how to trust God to provide (some tried to do both, but it’s not exactly the same thing), they went out and provided instead.
So now here we are, an in economic downturn, and we’ve forgotten that in our grandmother’s generation job opportunities for women were practically non-existant. Instead women supported their husbands, and prayed in faith that God and their husbands would meet their needs.
I’m not blaming our (or my) mothers for doing what they felt was needed at the time. We’re very lucky to live when we do, and have so many options for women that simply didn’t exist 50 years ago. That’s what our mother’s did for us, gave us options. I believe options are a good thing. Not all women marry and have children after all.
It’s very very easy to revert back to what we grew up with. And much more challenging to stay the course and do what we believe is best for our families. But I truly believe that each of us needs to pray about our individual situations in order to discover what that “best” is because I believe that’s different for each of us.
Oh my. What a beautiful testimony. I’m feeling a little emotional today, but still. . .felt tears welling in my eyes reading this. I needed this reminder today from this godly woman. Thank you so much!
Wow, what a sweet, sweet testimony. I wish I could sit and listen to her for hours.
Wow. What a neat lady! It really is sweet to read about a woman who had such faith in raising her family. Thank you for sharing this.
How wonderful. Those words are like a balm to my heart as I am reminded what a great and infinitely good and loving God we serve and the blessings that come from following His plan.
So inspiring! Such testimony brings tears to my eyes.