Never Forget….
Life has a way of teaching, if you but
listen. Some souls learn quickly and
simply and some not so much. But, ultimately, at the end of the day or the
closure of our life, the lessons were there….it’s in our ability to see
them and to learn from them that we are changed and that we grow.
I am no exception. I think I was a “middle of the road”
learner. Some things, I soaked up like a
sponge and other lessons, I just did not get easily. Some…I still wait to learn.
But, there are some lessons which have been
seared on my heart which I never want to forget. They are the top of a long, lengthy list
which I have started to add to my “Never Forget” journal.
I learned about the power of a “Never Forget”
journal after hearing the words of Kay Coles James at a Women’s
Conference many years ago. Kay spoke to
an audience of Christian women, imparting those lessons she had learned in life
in a real and intimate way. Kay had
grown up in the poverty of public housing to eventually be one of the most
powerful women in the White House during the Senior Bush Presidency. This was no simple journey and she did not
“make nice” in the telling of how hard it was for a young, black, mother of
three (she was/is married) to make it out of the slums and into the White
House. I can still hear her voice…deep
and strong and bold, reverberating on the soul of my young-mother’s heart
compelling me to take a good, long look at myself and of the responsibilities I
undertook the moment I became a mother.
Her words have been on my heart all of these
years and top my list of my “Never Forget” List of Life lessons:
1) Love
the Lord with all of your heart, your soul, your might. There is a Godly order in which to love
others. Study His Word and you will find
out what that is and go and obey it.
2) Marry a Godly person whose life draws in your
soul the desire to love the Lord most.
3) If you save every child in the World but fail
in the raising of the children God gives to you, you will have failed in your
#1 mission in life as a mother. Raise
them to know HIM intimately. Then, let
the Lord have his way with your children.
Do it on purpose.
And then, there were lessons from others: Godly parents, a sibling, and dear friends:
4) Always be striving to be growing spiritually
and in the Lord. This affords a
protection of your heart.
5) Seek out the goodness in others and let go of
that which is not good.
6) Live in the now....ask God to renew your heart
daily.
7) Think appropriately of yourself. You are a
child of God and have great worth, be courageous; You are a child of God and
are called to serve others. Be humble.
8) Be authentic.
This is one of my greatest strivings.
I have lived with inauthenticity in myself and in others. God cannot live in that environment. I choose to be authentic and real.
9) Give of your means. Don't just give the "interest" or
the left-overs to others; give from the center of anything you give because
that is where the heart lies.
10) Forgive.
Seek forgiveness and give forgiveness.
Let go when others do not.
11) Tell
the truth. One of the greatest pieces of
advice I was given through my divorce was to "tell the full truth and it
will set you free". That was Godly
and sage advice. And, it has.
12) Never believe YOU have all the answers; never
feel you don't have anything worthy to say.
And, some lessons have come from strangers:
13) Be yourself.
Don't try to be who others would have you be. Be who God made you to be.
14) Laugh.
A lot. Laughter is one of God's
ways given to us to cleanse our souls.
And, the Greatest lesson comes from Him:
15) Love
There are many more lessons in my "Never
Forget" journal....some intimately powerful, some drawing me to my knees
in humility. All, give me pause to think
and the opportunity to see from where I have come on this journey of life.
Ultimately, at the end of the day it boils down
to one true lesson for me.
Love.
It is really that simple.
Love covers many things, all things, everything.
It seasons the hard times with a softening; it
tenders the sad times with gentleness; it covers the good times with humility.
It is free to the giver to give and free to the
receiver to receive.
It is my life's greatest lessons.
Blessings,
Lesa
