Page Hughes is my mentor.
She is also my mother-in-law, but I call her my mother-in-love.
I have heard her use the term “in-loves” for those people who come into your family not because of blood relation or marriage, but because you love and choose them. Sometimes, though, we are fortunate and get a double scoop of blessings. I came into her family through marriage, but loved her before I ever changed my last name. God blessed me richly when I married into the Hughes family, and one of the myriad of reasons is the relationship I have with her.
I married her eldest son Les Hughes III (Kyle) and immediately became a pastor’s wife. Not having been raised in that environment you would think that to some degree it was a culture shock; however, I was prepared by the best in Page because she gave me very realistic expectations. Through the guidance of her and the Holy Spirit, I eased into place as if I had been there for years.
Not only has she mentored me in the area of being a pastor’s wife, but she has guided me more than she will ever know in being a godly wife, mother, and woman. As Les and I were dating, she shared her wisdom on godly dating and marriage. Throughout my pregnancy, my husband and I were able to visit her weekly. During those visits she would share many insights on life as a mom. Today, just as then, I soak up her guidance and listen with intent each time she speaks. The root of everything she shares is to keep Christ the central focus of all we do. I must find the satisfaction for my soul in Christ, and my relationship with Him needs to continually be growing so that I can then pour into others as she has poured into me.
Through Mentoring Moments you get to read her encouraging words, and I can assure you that her walk matches her talk. Page shows me how to live a life sold out to Christ. I have been reminded of this more recently having spent the last week with her in Kentucky. As I laid in bed my last night there I was thinking over the ministry we had done that week. At the end of each day I was exhausted from running here and there. I LOVED it! I have a 7 month-old baby, so being tired isn’t something I naturally seek, but really, what better way is there to end each day than to be totally spent from serving our Lord? That is how Page lives her life. She continuously serves the spiritual and physical needs of others from ministry families to the hired hands at Church Hill Down’s Chapel. She is regularly thinking about the next ministry opportunity, not out of a need for busyness, but because she lives her life in constant service to others for the glory of our King.
Our small family used to live within a close driving distance which enabled us to visit often. That changed this past May as God called our family 11 hours away to a church in south Mississippi. One of the most difficult adjustments for me has been not having that regular enriching interaction. I will be honest and say that I am still saddened at times for what is no longer possible, but I am thankful both of our families are serving exactly where God has called us. I am blessed by the time she invested in me when we lived close by, and although it’s now from a distance, she still goes beyond the call of a mother-in-law to reach me. Page has a Kingdom focus and has taught me more than anything to walk, with a content and trusting heart, on the path that God has written for my life. She is not only my mentor, but a mother, friend, and sister-in-Christ.
Lacey Hughes
