Parental Lessons Learned

Acts 2:25-28
'I saw the Lord always in my presence;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
Because you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.'


My Mother once told me that when your children are little they step on your toes, and when they are older they step on your heart.
I through the years have found the truth in this statement.
I love being a mom, but I will tell you, it is the most difficult job we women will ever face in life. I have learned so much about myself and about life through my children.
I have come to a better understanding of the heart of God by being a parent. His tolerance, His grace, forgivness, and mercy have become the things which I crave to possess in greater measure than seems natural for the flesh to obtain.
I have learned I do not possess the power to change a heart no matter how the condition of that heart breaks mine. I've also learned that when you parent a child into adulthood it doesn't hurt any less when they stray just because you didn't actually give physical birth to that child. Being a parent isn't about the birthing process it's about the loving process.
I have learned that when your children become adults they don't always recollect the past the same way you remember it, at times bringing laughter and others times tears.
I've realized once we become adults and we're raising our own children we still may not see the things we did in our youth that contributed to some of our own hard places and take ownership instead of passing blame.
I have learned much by being a parent, but I have learned much more by being a child, His child, and it is in His presence He will restore gladness in my heart. I never want to make His heart feel the way mine does today, although I know I have and He has always been there just waiting for me to turn to Him in repentance and desire to once again sit and bask in the warmth of His love for me.
It is in His presence where I find peace.
The greatest lesson I have learned is although I am still a parent and cannot take that responsibility lightly, I'll do it best by being His child first.

Gifts

WOW, Life sure does get busy, doesn't it? I can't believe it's going on two months since I've last written here.

The past few days as we all start to collect those last few gifts to give for Christmas Day my mind and heart has been stirred about the receiving of gifts, and how sometimes we tend to overlook the gifts that are most precious.

Do you remember as a kid, or ever watched as a small child, or even an older child for that matter, is opening the gifts of Christmas, and they open one and immediatly put that gift to the side then proceed on to the next, finally arriving at the last gift and after opening it, looks up and asks the question, "Is that it"? " Is that the last one, really"?

As we approach the day of "Christmas", the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, I am praying we would all take some time to evaluate life, and see those gifts for which the Lord has given. Although I am no longer a big fan of the winter season the Lord has impressed upon my heart the beauty and the gift He has given us in this season. The symbolism of the pure white covering of snow that washes over the dingy dirty look when the appearance of life has faded for the season.

If you are one who has previously read my posts, you might recall awhile back my post about the birds. I marvel at this creation of God and the wonder of their life, not only the diversity of their colors, shapes, sizes and characteristics, but amazingly how God cares for them. I watched the other day from my car as I waited for my daughter as the sparrows did this awesome dance in the air. First it was just fifteen or so flying then landing on a rooftop, as several more joined that group, they all lifted up in flight the last following the first as they all swoped down, then back up to land on the utility wire. More then joined in as they all again lifted in unison and dipped and swayed in their flight, as if dancing in the air. By the time they left where I could see them there must have been hundreds of them. I sat there falling in love with the love of our Father all over again.

I seen this display as a gift the Lord gave me the vision to partake in, one I may have missed if given to the hurried schedule we all find ourselves in these days.

Some of the greatest gifts we could ever receive are all around us, in the gloriously blue sky He has used to paint the backdrop of our outdoor world. Even those days that are somewhat gloomy can carry beauty as the other evening we found reds and pinks swirled within what was the time of sunset. The giggly laughter of a small child, the twinkle in the eye of an elderly person when you tell them you love them, the hugs we receive when we so need encouragement.

As we all gather together with our loved ones this Christmas, it is my prayer that we would see the truest gifts of life all around us and we be given the ability to appreciate them for what they are. The greatest gifts, the ones that are from the Fathers heart through His children, given to each other. Embrace someone this season and open your eyes to the wonders that surround us all in the awesome beauty of His creation.

May you know the greatest gift the Father has given us, the gift of His Son, Jesus!