Mother's Day

Forty one years ago I became a mother for the very first time. My first Mother's Day. It was a beautiful morning as I watched the sunrise while in the recovery room. That was before they allowed the family centered birth experience. Subsequently my husband and I had two more children. God knew what He was doing when He gave us three girls. We we now have twelve grandchildren and half of them are boys. Wow, my hat is off to mothers of young children today especially boys. What energy, wisdom, flexibility and quick thinking skills they have to have!

It is through being a parent that I have learned about the love and wisdom of a God who is the ultimate parent. I have felt the exhuberating joy of watching our girls grow up and cheering them on! I have felt the heartache of trying to guide them through those years by sharing with them some things I had learned from poor choices that I had made. I thought I could prevent them from making some of their own. I had to stand by and watch as they made mistakes, were injured, failed in their goals or had hearts broken.

Hugs and bandages can help injuries heal. A broken heart can not be so easily mended. It may survive but it bears the scars and lives with the pain of the memories left behind.

How much more does God rejoice over our triumphs and feel sorrow for our rejection of our Creator and Savior. He gives us the key to wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the Scriptures? It is worth volumes of preventative instruction if we would only learn from the lessons of those who have gone before us.
A child's rejection of their parents brings unbearable heartache. It is a wound that may be bound up but never healed this side of heaven. I say this with the knowledge of experience. It is tremdously grievious, gut wrenching and heart rending to lose a child. It is harder still to lose grandchildren.

I implore you to be sensitive to listen to what God is saying to you. Read His words to you in the Bible. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I Am God." Pray. There is a song by a man named Lyle Helmick that has these words: "give me a soft heart, open eyes, an ear to hear what Your Spirit says.....prepare me, Lord, to go where I am led...Teach my ears to hear You, through Your eyes to see, teach my mouth to praise You, teach my heart to sing!"

We have a choice when sorrows come our way, and they will. We get to choose whether we will allow them to make us better or bitter, soft hearted or heardened. Pain is inevitable, suffering it is optional. Sharing your pain dilutes it and helps you to bear the unbearable. The best way I found was to get into a Bible teaching church, become part of a small group community in that church and allow God to use other people to share your pain and help bind those wounds. Pay attention and watch for the little miracles along the way. Don't miss out on them by focusing all your attention on waiting for "the big one."

There is so much wisdom, knowledge and understanding to be gained! Do not reject Him today. Tomorrow may be too late.