Lori Loughlin started her career as a child actor but became famous playing moms. And not the kind that bribe college administrators. The other kind. Down to earth, honest, hardworking moms who teach life lessons to plucky teenage girls.
She is probably best known for her role as Aunt Becky on the ABC sitcom Full House. Becky was a successful career woman who met and married Jesse Katsopolis, the brother of Danny Tanner’s deceased wife. In the popular family-oriented series, she had twin boys and became something of a surrogate mom to Danny’s girls, often giving heartfelt advice about love, life, and relationships.
After Full House, Loughlin stayed busy in various roles, including the Netflix sequel Fuller House, before playing Abigail Stanton on Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. In Heart, Loughlin’s character, Stanton, is a widow, having lost both her son and husband in a tragic accident.
The website Fandom describes Stanton as “charming, brave, intelligent, and charismatic.” She becomes an inspiration to others in Hope Valley, especially other widows. She runs a café, and, as Fandom says, “she meets orphans Cody and Rebecca Hastings and takes them under her wing. Shortly after, she adopts them. After the arrest of Henry Gowen, the former mayor of Hope Valley, Abigail is shifted into the role of mayor, while continuing to run her cafe.”
But that’s fiction. This is reality.
Hallmark fired Loughlin right after the admissions scandal broke March 12 and she was arrested. On April 15 Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, declined a plea deal and entered pleas of “not guilty.” So if they are convicted, they could face decades in prison.
Others, such as actor Felicity Huffman, avoided the probability of extensive jail time by taking the deal. So why not Loughlin?
“From the beginning,” a source close to Loughlin told the media, “she didn’t want to take a deal, because she felt that she hadn’t done anything that any mom wouldn’t have done, if they had the means to do so.”
So, sadly, Loughlin believes that to bribe a child’s way into an elite university is standard procedure—if you have the cash.
Perhaps she never realized that the people she portrayed had more character than the Mom she was becoming?
Being a mom, or dad, is not about how much money you have. And it is certainly not about paving an effortless path for your kids, giving them what they do not achieve or buffering tough experiences for them. It’s about raising responsible adults who become productive, mature, and generous citizens. No parent does this perfectly, but every parent can do it honestly.
And for Christian moms, it means doing your best to raise children who know Christ. One day they will make their own decisions, but while they are in your care, you can have an impact on them for Christ.
And the Bible gives Christian moms plenty of directives for their stewardship of children and how to be a good mom. But the one that stands out the most is Proverbs 31. The well-known passage describes a godly woman as a woman of “noble character” (31:10).
From that, the proverb heralds her work ethic, her respect for her husband, and the respect she earns from her community. She is smart with money and savvy in business. She is compassionate, wise, strong, and loving. In other words, she is the Mom and wife that a godly woman should aspire to be (31:12-31).
This woman is not fiction, and at the end of it all we are reminded of why she is an inspiration.
“Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also praises her:
‘Many women have done noble deeds,
but you surpass them all!’
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,
but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised” (31:28-30).
She leaves a legacy that impacts her family and her children for the Lord. Is there any greater thing that can be said of a parent, especially a mom, than that?
You, Mom, live a very real life. Not fiction or fantasy. You suffer hurts with your children, and you celebrate their victories when they shine. You laugh with them, cry with them, teach them, guide them, protect them, and discipline them. They see you suffer, feel your love, and hear your hope.
And one day they will depart. What’s left? Your legacy. Not who the world thinks you are, but who your kids know you are. A very real, factual, living example of your motherhood.
Don’t try to be who you are not but aspire to be who God called you to be. Sooner or later, fact catches up to fiction. And the legacy moms leave reveals their character.
So let it be said of you, Mom, that you left behind a legacy of noble character, a legacy of faith that your children could follow.