The Perseverance of

Faith
Vanessa Mentor
THOUGHTS……………….
In our role as mothers – remember - Every woman is a
daughter and every woman had a mother. The bond of
mother and daughter relationship is so profound, so deep
and long-lasting, that very often even after your mother has
passed on, sometime 20 years on, you still miss her. We
should no longer allow a mother to be labelled just a mom.
It is on her back that great nations are built. We should no
longer allow any woman’s voice to be drowned out or
disregarded. As we affirm other woman and as we teach our
sons, husbands, friends to hold them in highest regard. we
honour both the mothers whose shoulders we stood on and
the daughters who will one day stand tall on ours.
PERSEVERANCE OF FAITH

 So I would like to focus on The

Perseverance of Faith in our role as
women, and in our role as Mothers
 I am going to share
stories of two
Biblical Women and two modern day
women with you
FAITH

Matthew15: 28 - FAITH
“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let
it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter
was healed from that very hour”
Today I am honoured to share a perspective with
you; on the role we as women have and have to play
in society and in our communities. As women we
have to continue to fight , stand up, stand tall, stand
strong as we fight for our children!!!
First Story:
Canaanite
Woman

O Woman Of
“

Great Faith”
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY WOMEN

The story of the Canaanite woman is so full of meaning:

No matter which way you look at it – you see the jewels in
this story. The Canaanite woman sought the Saviour because
of her parental love for her daughter and longed to have the
devil cast out of her. Have mercy on me O Lord, thou Son of
David. It was with this shrill and piteous voice , that she
asked earnestly and meant what she said. Her humility
helped her greatly. If she was a proud woman, she would
have stood upon her dignity when she was called dog. She
did not even resent the harsh word the Lord used, but still
pleaded for her child.
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY WOMEN

The story of the Canaanite woman is so full of meaning:

Now parental love, earnestness and humility are good
things, but are not enough to enable a soul to cling to Christ
and never let him go. Something more is needed, the
woman is sensible, wise and prudent. She knew how to turn
hard words from Christ into arguments in her own favour;
she would not be put back. If He had not answered her, she
would pleaded with him again, she would find something on
which to feed her heart.
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN

 But wise and prudent as she was, she WOULD NOT HAVE,
held out to the end and obtained the blessing she desired
for her daughter, IF IT WAS NOT FOR HER FAITH.
 We May be quite sure that the one thing especially
noteworthy in this woman’s case was her Faith, as Christ
said: “O Woman of great faith”. He did not say Great is thy
love for thy child, great is thy earnestness. But he put his
finger on the power that urged her forward and He said;
“O Woman of great faith”
THOUGHTS TO PONDER ON???

 How many of us have that kind of faith?

 How many times have we wanted to throw
in the towel, or give up?: Whether it has
been with a troubled child, or in a troubled
relationship?
 How many of us truly believe that: “Faith
the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen”
SECOND STORY:

Ester the Giant

Ester the Heroine
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN
The author John Maxwell refers to her as a Giant. She is also referred
to as the Fearful Heroine. Ester’s life had a humble beginnings, but she
was beautiful, bold and courageous.
Lessons we can learn from Ester:
1. For everything there is preparation time.
2. We need favour from God
3. God works in his own time and season
4. Your background does not hinder your future with God
SECOND STORY:
Ester the Giant
Ester the Heroine
THOUGHTS TO PONDER ON……………

 Are you bold enough to tell your boyfriend that he must

stop hitting you? LET GO, WALK AWAY, SAY ENOUGH!!!
 Are you beautiful enough to realize that you do not need
to get high on drugs to have a good time?
 Are you courageous enough to take a stand for what you
believe in?
 As a mum, a dad, parents, guardians, are we bold enough
to let go, without giving up!!!
Turn to each other and Say I am Beautiful, Bold and
Courageous!!!
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN
The FIRST modern day story:
 This story is about a well-known cyclist’s mother – Lance
Armstrong’s mother.
 Linda Armstrong fell pregnant at the age of 16. She came
from a poverty stricken family, alcoholism and rejection,
and they never lived in one place for a long time. They were
always packing, she was in an abusive relationship and
when her mother found out she was pregnant, she kicked
her out of the house. She eventually gained her school
certificate and worked her way up in a tele-communications
company.
Lance Armstrong

WHAT A MOTHER WOULD

DO FOR HER CHILD!!!!
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN

The FIRST modern day story:

 She had a ferocious work ethic, inspired by the love she
felt for her son. She also inspired him. “You train and race,
I will take care of the rest” – she said. She supported him
and never left his side when he was diagnosed with cancer.
When Lance emerged from surgery after having 2 tumours
removed from his brain, he asked for his mother and he
thanked her. He said I want you to know how much I love
life and how much I love you for giving it to me.
 The unwavering Faith and belief of a mother
Having
Courage,
Unwaivering
Faith, Hope!
!!!!
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN
The SECOND modern day story is called:
The Joey Song – A Mother’s Story of Her Son’s Addiction:
 Sandy Swenson lives where love and addiction meet--a place where help
enables and hope hurts.
 When drug addiction steals her son, Sandy fights for his survival, trying
to stay on the right side of an invisible line between helping him to live
and helping him to die.
 By age 20, Joey overdoses, attempts suicide, quits college, survives a
near-fatal car accident, does time in prison, and is kicked out of rehab
more than once.
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN
The SECOND modern day story is called:
The Joey Song – A Mother’s Story of Her Son’s Addiction:

 Increasingly manipulative, delusional, and hateful, the sweet Joey from

childhood is lost to the addict wearing his face.
 Sandy does what she can to save Joey from himself until it hurts more to
hang on than it hurts to let go. Through Family Programs, Reading,
Praying and learning from her mistakes, Sandy discovers that sometimes
love means doing nothing, and that Letting Go is not the same thing as
giving up.
 She also learns that she needs to work on surviving her son's addiction
while coming to terms with the fact that he may not.
STORIES OF 2 BIBLICAL WOMEN AND 2 MODERN DAY
WOMEN
 Sandy had a realization that turned things around for her, and she began to wonder, “Who am I actually
helping when I’m hanging on and trying to fix all these things for him? … Am I helping my son, or am I
helping the addict?”
 What helped Sand most was:
CONNECTING WITH OTHER PARENTS
And learning the 3 C’s:
1. YOU DID NOT CAUSE IT
2. YOU CANNOT CONTROL IT
3. YOU CANNOT CURE IT
And lastly letting go….without giving up
Sandra Swenson beautifully orchestrates a mother's lessons of love and loss and THE PERSEVERANCE OF
FAITH , while surviving her son's addiction
CONCLUDING……..
 In concluding, I want to remind you of what I said at the
beginning, every woman is a daughter and every woman
had a mother. My memories of my own mother are
engraved in my heart forever. She always told me that If
God did not want us to reach for the stars he would not
have blessed us with the power to dream.
 I want you to take a minute, close your eyes and think of
your mum, guardian, aunt etc., she may be here with you,
she may be home and she may have passed on. Let us take
a few minutes to ponder on the memories that you may
have of her.
CONCLUDING……..
I am going to share with you, some of the things my mum
taught me and shared with me:
 Be sentimental- love, love , love
 Look for the good in people and in circumstances
 Teach by example

 Siblings can be your best friends

 Be loyal
 Forgive
 Stay up late at night and talk to your children
CONCLUDING……………
 Help others less fortunate
 Write
 Be strong and independent
 Keep things in perspective
 Value fairness, kindness honesty and equality
 Believe in yourself
 You can achieve anything, no matter what the barriers
CONCLUDING………..

 Cherish life- it is precious

 Treasure friends

 Don’t give up easily on commitments you make

So be bold, be beautiful, be courageous, continue to

have faith and never give up on the woman that you
are!!!!
CONCLUSION

Turn to each other and say after me:

“Be bold, be beautiful, be courageous”

I would like to close by playing a song called:

“Conqueror” – as we continue the service –
please listen to the words of the song and
take it to heart
CONQUEROR