{"id":20071,"date":"2026-03-11T08:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T08:45:18","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-22T23:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T03:19:55","slug":"my-mother-my-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"My Mother, My Inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robin Roberts\u2019 mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, passed away not long after this story appeared in the August 2012 edition of<\/em> Guideposts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve interviewed many inspiring people on Good Morning America<\/em>\u2014world leaders, sports legends, heroes.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s one interview I\u2019ve always wanted to do, one person I wish would sit down with me on the show, except she\u2019d be embarrassed by the attention and insist there were far more deserving folks.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts. She\u2019s led a remarkable life. Believe me, she\u2019s truly deserving.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not just saying that because she\u2019s my mom and I love her. She has lived so many of the events that shaped this country\u2014from the Great Depression to the civil rights era\u2014and faced many challenges.<\/p>\n

But Mom would much rather ask about you than talk about herself (maybe that\u2019s where I get my interviewing skills from) and share an uplifting story she\u2019s read than tell her own.<\/p>\n

Whenever someone in our family wanted to hear more about her life, she\u2019d say, \u201cSomeday I\u2019ll write a book and put it all down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now at age 88, she has. My Story, My Song <\/em>was published this spring, and the title could not be more fitting. Music is my mother\u2019s joy in times of celebration and her comfort in times of heartache.<\/p>\n

She knows that \u201cWherever I am, God is,\u201d just as the prayer of protection she taught me says (the prayer I start my day with).<\/p>\n

Still she likes having a special place to meet with God. The piano has been that place for her ever since she taught herself to play by ear as a little girl in Akron, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Mom grew up beyond poor. Her father lost his job in the Depression and turned to drinking.<\/p>\n

One of her earliest memories was seeing strangers carting off her parents\u2019 bedroom furniture. Then the living room sofas went, the crystal doorknobs, the rugs. The electricity and gas were turned off.<\/p>\n

Her mother, determined to keep a stable home for the children, got a job cleaning houses for a dollar a day.<\/p>\n

My grandmother had, as Mom puts it, \u201cthe most marvelous way of taking what life served her and making the best of it.\u201d She held the family together and showed her children that success wasn\u2019t about money. What counted was your character and faith in God.<\/p>\n

The family was in church every Sunday, and that\u2019s where Mom learned to sing the spirituals and hymns that she says are \u201clike a prayer with a melody.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew Mom would be proud to share stories about her mother, but I was surprised to see how openly she wrote about her father\u2019s troubles. I hadn\u2019t realized the extent of it until I read a draft of her book.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re really going to tell everyone your dad was an alcoholic?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m also going to tell them how he found the Lord and quit drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faith definitely transformed my grandfather\u2019s life. I don\u2019t remember him as an alcoholic. What I remember is him counseling people and preaching the good word from the pulpit on Sundays.<\/p>\n

In second grade Mom was assigned to Miss Schnegg\u2019s class. The teacher saw something in the bright little girl with the lovely voice and mentored her all through high school.<\/p>\n

Grandma valued education, but since her own didn\u2019t extend beyond sixth grade, it was Miss Schnegg who pushed Mom to set her sights high and take college prep classes. Who helped her get a scholarship to Howard University and become the first in her family to go to college. Who inspired Mom to go into teaching and later chair the Mississippi Board of Education.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At Howard, Mom fell for a handsome student named Lawrence Roberts. World War II interrupted their courtship. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a private and in 1944 entered the training program for the Tuskegee Airmen, our country\u2019s first black military pilots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to wait till the war was over to marry your father,\u201d Mom reminded us. \u201cAny notion that a groom should not see his bride before the wedding we had to dismiss because we were too busy setting up chairs and tying crepe paper bows to the branches of the apple tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom and Dad moved 27 times in the course of his 32-year career. In those early days, the armed services were newly integrated, and Mom was usually the only nonwhite officer\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n

Times had changed so much by the time I came along (I\u2019m the youngest of four) that it wasn\u2019t until I read her book that I truly understood the anger and hurt she felt at being excluded, being stared at, having the room go silent when she walked in.<\/p>\n

The loneliness was tremendous. My brother, Butch, the oldest, was just a toddler when Mom and Dad were stationed in Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing prepared me for the isolation I felt as the only black woman on a base in a foreign country,\u201d she says. What did she do? She met God at their special place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe base chapel was always open and I\u2019d slip in and play the piano,\u201d she says. She\u2019d sing her favorite hymns. \u201cAfter an hour I felt revived.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder then that church on Sundays was mandatory for us Roberts kids. A cold was no excuse. The three of us girls, Sally-Ann, Dorothy and I, had to wear our white bobby socks and best dresses too.<\/p>\n

For some families, it\u2019s the three R\u2019s. For us it was the three D\u2019s: Discipline, Determination and Da Lord.<\/p>\n

Not that Mom was dignified and disciplined all the time. Dad retired as a colonel in 1975 at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. My parents settled down on the Gulf Coast in the town of Pass Christian, Mississippi, where I went to high school and the place I call home.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t go far for college\u2014Southeastern Louisiana University, less than 100 miles away. I played basketball and Mom and Dad loved to come to my games. Even retired, Dad was all military and buttoned up. Not Mom. She was loud<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sitting next to her!\u201d he\u2019d tease. So he\u2019d sit at one end of the gym and she\u2019d sit at the other. I could pick out her voice, leading the cheering. \u201cTwo bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar,\u201d she\u2019d get everybody to shout, \u201call for Southeastern, stand up and holler!\u201d<\/p>\n

The only time I can think of Mom taking me down a notch was several years ago after a commencement speech I gave. I thought I\u2019d done a good job, talking about what I\u2019d accomplished, what I\u2019d learned, how I\u2019d dealt with adversity.<\/p>\n

Mom, though, was quiet. Finally I asked what was wrong. \u201cYou forgot to mention all the people who have helped you,\u201d she said. \u201cWe never do it just on our own. There are all those people behind us, our teachers, coaches, pastors, mentors.\u201d<\/p>\n

And our parents. Come to my dressing room at the GMA <\/em>studio, and you\u2019ll see a lot of Mom and Dad. Photos, a favorite quote of Mom\u2019s, models of the airplanes Dad flew.<\/p>\n

Dad died in October 2004 at age 81. A heart attack took him in the middle of the night. Mom was griefstricken. I didn\u2019t know how she was going to cope. I wasn\u2019t sure how I would.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mom wasn\u2019t up to hosting Thanksgiving, so I asked her to visit me in New York. Diane Sawyer, my dear friend and colleague, was having people over and invited us. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to go, Mom,\u201d I said. \u201cWe can do something small.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go,\u201d Mom said. She has never been shy about meeting people.<\/p>\n

At dinner we went around the table and everyone shared a reflection. Mom, it\u2019s all right, <\/em>I thought. You don\u2019t have to say something so soon after Dad\u2019s death. <\/em><\/p>\n

Right there at the table Mom began to sing in a soft, true voice, \u201cBy and by, when the morning comes, when the saints of God are gathered home\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

At the chorus another beautiful voice joined in. Diane\u2019s. \u201cWe\u2019ll tell the story of how we\u2019ve overcome, for we\u2019ll understand it better by and by.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comfort of Mom\u2019s faith was so strong I felt it too. Even more so a few years later when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I woke up from surgery and saw her sweet face looking at me. She\u2019d been praying for me.<\/p>\n

She held my hand, stroking it as only a mother can, and I knew the healing process had begun.<\/p>\n

Remember how I said Mom would be too embarrassed to be interviewed on Good Morning America<\/em>? She says it\u2019s because her book isn\u2019t about her as much as all those who\u2019ve helped her along the way. And I mean all<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When I was home for New Year\u2019s, Mom dictated the acknowledgments to me. She went on and on. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to mention everyone you\u2019ve ever met, you know,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people are important to me. I can\u2019t leave anyone out,\u201d she insisted.<\/p>\n

Then I went back to New York and she called me and added more names! I was about to tell her to stop when it hit me. Why put a limit on gratitude?<\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s right. We sing the melody to our life\u2019s song, but the people who touch us provide the harmony. And underneath it all, guiding us and supporting us, is the rhythm of our faith.<\/p>\n

Visit our Robin Roberts Pinterest board<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robin Roberts\u2019 mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, passed away not long after this story appeared in the August 2012 edition of Guideposts. I\u2019ve interviewed many inspiring people on Good Morning America\u2014world leaders, sports legends, heroes. Still, there\u2019s one interview I\u2019ve always wanted to do, one person I wish would sit down with me on the show, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[222],"tags":[70],"ppma_author":[1342],"class_list":["post-20071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","tag-mother"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy Mother, My Inspiration - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Mother, My Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Robin Roberts\u2019 mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, passed away not long after this story appeared in the August 2012 edition of Guideposts. I\u2019ve interviewed many inspiring people on Good Morning America\u2014world leaders, sports legends, heroes. Still, there\u2019s one interview I\u2019ve always wanted to do, one person I wish would sit down with me on the show, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"866\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robin Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Neeraj Rai\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be\"},\"headline\":\"My Mother, My Inspiration\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1662,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Mother\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/\",\"name\":\"My Mother, My Inspiration - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg\",\"width\":1540,\"height\":866,\"caption\":\"Theo Westenberger\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/my-mother-my-inspiration\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Positive Living\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Friends and Family\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Family\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/friends-and-family\\\/family\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"My Mother, My Inspiration\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be\",\"name\":\"Neeraj Rai\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g0c0183ebd910e29ad96a4a5994cce5d4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Neeraj Rai\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/guideposts.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/neeraj\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Mother, My Inspiration - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Mother, My Inspiration","og_description":"Robin Roberts\u2019 mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, passed away not long after this story appeared in the August 2012 edition of Guideposts. I\u2019ve interviewed many inspiring people on Good Morning America\u2014world leaders, sports legends, heroes. Still, there\u2019s one interview I\u2019ve always wanted to do, one person I wish would sit down with me on the show, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1540,"height":866,"url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Robin Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/"},"author":{"name":"Neeraj Rai","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be"},"headline":"My Mother, My Inspiration","datePublished":"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/"},"wordCount":1662,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg","keywords":["Mother"],"articleSection":["Family"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/","url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/","name":"My Mother, My Inspiration - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-11T08:45:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T03:19:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/robin_roberts_marquee-1.jpg","width":1540,"height":866,"caption":"Theo Westenberger"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/my-mother-my-inspiration\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Positive Living","item":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Friends and Family","item":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Family","item":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/family\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"My Mother, My Inspiration"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be","name":"Neeraj Rai","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g0c0183ebd910e29ad96a4a5994cce5d4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"Neeraj Rai"},"url":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/author\/neeraj\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1342,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"robin-roberts","display_name":"Robin Roberts","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fguideposts.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42532,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20071\/revisions\/42532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20071"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=20071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}