Anna Groff, executive director: There’s an assumption that mothers worry. My mother doesn’t fit that. In fact, she taught me not to worry or live in fear. When we, her children, traveled abroad or moved to new cities, she said she trusted that God would take care of us. Now that I’m a mother, I think about this often. It is one thing to be careful, it is another to be consumed with anxiety. My mother showed me that there some things in life we can’t control and we need to learn to let go. Above, my mother and I hold baby bunnies when I was 13.

Mary Jo Veurink, designer: My mother was a great multi-tasker, before it was called that. Living at the Mennonite camp where I grew up, my mother had a lot of work responsibilities in addition to caring for my brother and me. Yet her organizational abilities and willingness to take us along while doing her work taught me the very same time management skills that I use today to juggle my business and family life.

Gordon Houser, editor: Here, on the right, is my mother, who died in 2004, with me at my 40th birthday party a couple of decades ago. One of many things my mother passed on to me was the practice of taking time at the beginning of the day to be alone and reflect (on Scripture, on life, on the fecundity of silence). I learned about this practice of hers later in life, since she didn’t talk about it, but I treasure it and try to follow in her footsteps.

Becky Helmuth, advertising/subscriptions: This is my mom, my little sister Rachel, and me around age 6. Mom has always been there anytime I’ve needed her and, even though I was too young to realize it at the time, I know there were many things she went without so she could give my sisters and me the things we needed. She taught me to be good mom by being a great mom.