An Exemplary Mother

Mothers

Today we honor and celebrate mothers. Edgar Guest was a simple poet who wrote about everyday subjects; and, of course, there is no way that he would NOT have a poem about mothers.

Mothers

Edgar Albert Guest

Never a sigh for the cares that she bore for me Never a thought of the joys that flew by; Her one regret that she couldn't do more for me, Thoughtless and selfish, her Master was I. Oh, the long nights that she came at my call to me! Oh, the soft touch of her hands on my brow! Oh, the long years that she gave up her all to me! Oh, how I yearn for her gentleness now! Slave to her baby! Yes, that was the way of her, Counting her greatest of services small; Words cannot tell what this old heart would say of her, Mother — the sweetest and fairest of all.[1]

I’ve been blessed to experience and observe great moms – (this is a great opportunity for a shout out to my mother, my wife, her mother, my daughter and daughter in law as well as many others). I’ve seen the ideals of this poem in action (although I have to admit that sometimes it seemed like too much mothering). Mothers are the ultimate influencers and crafters for the next generation. Men, we may roll our eyes sometimes, but it is the truth.

This morning, I want to tell you the story of a remarkable woman—a woman whose name we don't even know. Scripture simply calls her "the Shunammite woman," but her faith and courage still echo through the centuries.

Meet the Shunammite Woman

The Bible offers us some marvelous examples of faith-filled mothers. The Shunnamite woman displays what it means to have faith, hospitality, perseverance, and trust in God. I believe that the example of the Shunnamite woman is not only an example of what it means to be a godly mother but universally, what it means to be a Christian.

Let's turn together to 2 Kings 4:8-37.

Lessons From a Shunammite Woman

2 Kings 4:8–10 (NIV) 8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”

A Mother’s Heart Begins with Hospitality

Our passage doesn’t start off with some amazing feat. The Shunammite woman wasn't seeking fame or reward. She saw a need—Elisha, the man of God, needed a place to rest—and she opened her home.

Hospitality often doesn't make headlines. It looks like meals cooked, beds prepared, time given freely. I read an article earlier this week about the trend of fast food restaurants using apps for everything. Drive up to a fast-food restaurant and the first thing they ask is if you are using the app. What? I’m in a drive thru lane just hoping I can hear the speaker. If you walk in, there are touch screens to order your food. Meanwhile the cashier stands there waiting. As you stand there trying to work the computer, those how ordered online go right up to the front. DoorDash drivers walk right up. It seems like the real, in life human being is the last person they want to deal with. There is no “Welcome” or greeting of the day. No eye-to-eye contact. No smile. Where’s the hospitality?

It’s the everyday ways that mothers nurture life: opening their homes, opening their hands, opening their hearts. Today, we honor mothers who have created "rooms" in their lives for others—safe spaces of love, comfort, wisdom, and prayer.

Perhaps an even greater example for us all is the fact that she created a space for the prophet, the voice of God. Are we creating spaces where others can meet God?

A Mother’s Heart Trusts God Even in Disappointment

2 Kings 4:11-13 (NIV) 11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’ ” She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

Elisha’s offer was a big deal. He had influence with even the evil King Joram at the time. But she was content. The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that “contentment with godliness is great gain”. Eugene Peterson translates it as “the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.” She was good, but the prophet wanted to go deeper.

2 Kings 4:14-17 (NIV) “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

15Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway.

16“About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

17But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

This woman wasn’t asking for a miracle. She had accepted her lot. When Elisha prophesied, she would have a son, her reaction was almost fearful: "Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!" (v.16)

She had learned not to get her hopes up—like many mothers who know the ache of unanswered prayers, deferred dreams, or unspoken heartbreaks. But God saw her hidden hopes. Sometimes our hopes are quiet and unspoken. Chesterton once said, “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.” If you think about it, people can look at the same facts and come to completely different conclusions – hopeful or hopeless. Exceptional people choose hope isn’t of hopelessness. It is because of Christ that we can always be hopeful!

God sees the longings and silent prayers of mothers. He delights in bringing life to places that have felt barren.

A Mother’s Heart Holds on to Hope Even in Crisis

2 Kings 4:18 (NIV) The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

Tragedy struck without warning.

Tragedy...what an ugly word! We live in a world of tragedies, don’t we?  It is likely that the boy suffered sunstroke. The child God had given her suddenly died in her arms. The hope she didn’t even ask for was now dead. Imagine her heartbreak!

Many people begin to follow Jesus and then when tragedies and difficulties come, they abandon Christ. There were very few disciples at the Cross. To quote Rocky, “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life…”

Rocky encouraged his boy to reach inside of himself for courage. Christians have better than that. Watch what this faithful mother does:

Brings her family before the Lord

2 Kings 4:21-26 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”

23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.”

25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite!

26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ” “Everything is all right,” she said.

She laid the boy on the bed of the man of God (v.21) — laying him before the Lord.

She saddled a donkey and went straight to Elisha — she ran toward God, not away from Him.

When Elisha’s servant asked if she was okay, she answered, "It is well". Not because everything was okay—but because she trusted that God was still good.

I look around the sanctuary this morning and know that many of you have suffered tragedy at one time or another. Mothers, your faith in crisis seasons teaches a powerful sermon: Faith is not denying the pain; it’s choosing to trust God in the middle of it.

A Mother's Heart Clings Until the Miracle Comes

2 Kings 4:27-37 27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lordhas hidden it from me and has not told me why.”

28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.

33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord.

34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm.

35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”

37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

The Shunammite woman refused to leave Elisha. She said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you" (v.30). I think that her statement links back to Elisha and his mentor Elijah. When Elijah knew it was his time to leave, he told Elisha to wait. Elisha said, “I will not leave you”. I think his own words echoed in his mind as he heard the Shunammite woman repeat them.

What perseverance! She didn't settle for partial answers. She stayed until the prophet came with her, prayed over her son, and life was restored. Mothers often carry a persevering faith—not just for themselves, but for their children, for their homes, for the next generation. When others would quit, mothers often stay on their knees, contending in prayer, believing for resurrection where others see only death.

Follow this Woman’s Example!

Being a mother or a father is easy. It is a biological outcome. Being a godly mother takes determination and wisdom. The story of the Shunammite woman teaches us:

Be hospitable and generous.

Trust God even when dreams seem impossible.

Run to God in crisis.

Persevere in faith until the miracle comes.

Mothers, and all who carry a godly mother’s heart

· you are writing stories of faith that will outlive you.

· You are making rooms where miracles happen.

· You are standing in the gap for a generation that needs to see what real faith looks like.

This Mother’s Day let’s honor the strength, faith, and prayers of mothers like the Shunammite woman—and let's be inspired to live the same way ourselves.

Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for clinging to hope, even when the world said it was hopeless.

Today we say: Thank you!

[1]Poemhunter.com. Accessed May 9, 2025.