As Only Your Mama can……
It’s early….I woke up early thinking about you, and it made
me smile a Mama’s smile…..
S is for Sacrifice, Silly and Shirle
S is for Sacrifice.
Sadly, the concept of sacrifice has become blurred with time. Today is so much about “me” that our ability
to make things about others is a concept that few can really understand. That is why I want to encourage you to find
opportunities to sacrifice. Not in
public so that the world may see, but in private so that God may be
witness. Sacrifice holy….for Him…because
of Him….in His name.
Sacrifice is defined
as an act of offering
something precious…..and, the greatest gift of sacrifice you can give is that
of yourself.
I believe that…..the greatest gift is that of yourself,
your personhood, your friendship, your love.
That is what Jesus did for us…..his sacrifice was the
ultimate one.
You know, I think some do not want to sacrifice because
they think that means sacrifice so greatly that there is nothing left of us,
but my understanding is that that is not what means…
To me, sacrifice is a giving of ourselves…not of all so
that nothing is left.
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is
your true and proper worship. Do not
conform to this pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Yes, some have been called to sacrifice all…even their
lives, but most are called to do as this scripture says…to live a life of
sacrifice on this earth now so that we will be transformed……
Into HIS….
S is for
Shirle……
Shirle Sue Perry Millstead is your Grammy. When I think of sacrifice, I think of your
Grammy, my Mother, who has been a real, authentic and true example of
sacrifice. She gave up much personally to
become who God called her to be.
When I take time to reflect on my fifty-one years as Mama’s
daughter, I can see that sacrifice….
And, I am grateful.
I think both you and I can agree that Grammy is no
wilting flower barely able to hold up her head in the storm of life. Quite the contrary, she has faced the many
challenges and trials of life with her head bowed in prayer and then lifted in “his
light”. She is a strong, Godly woman who
refused to give way to hopelessness and who, instead, grew into faithfulness.
That is her legacy to you. To be strong in the Lord and in His mighty
power….so that your life is a light which illuminates the path to God so that
those who would otherwise live in darkness can see…
Him.
Watch your Grammy closely………she has the heart of Her
heavenly Father and the spirit of His son.
That is God’s gift to you…..your Grammy.
Come to know her and know her well so that you, too, can
grow into the strong, Godly and lovely daughter of His…
She is your Godly legacy…holding up the lantern of her
life and lighting your way…..
Follow, daughter…..
S is for Silly…..
I think it is appropriate that silly be one of the words
in this letter to you.
I happen to believe that our God loves it when we are
silly…..
Laughter is music to His ears and music to His soul…
God tells us in His word that there is a “Time for
Everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
“…a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance….”
I have this image of God….watching in
glorious delight as we frolic and play and have fun. I have no doubt when my daddy taught me to do
the peppermint twist in the living room of our home at 661 Cherrywood drive
that God was there….laughing.
That when my mother played kick ball
with us in the back yard and ran the bases like a maniac trying to steal home,
God was there….laughing.
That when you and your brothers and I
were in the ocean playing in the sun and laughing as we tried to dunk each
other….God was there laughing.
He loves us…..He loves our joy, our
laughter…….
He loves the music our hearts make
when we are joyfully and sweetly embracing the preciousness of this life and
sharing that with one another in laughter…
So, be silly…..be extravagantly,
happily…..amazingly silly in your life and share that with those around you so
that they can tell the God you live for…the God you worship….the God who guides
you in this world is a Father who loves you and your…
Silliness……
Be silly for Him!
Blessings,
ILYAOYMC,
Mama
