If It's Wednesday, It is a Word from your Mama...to Kenton

If It’s Wednesday, It is a Word from your Mama….

 

“Great Heart, My Son Kenton”

 

Mama’s watch over their children.  You are no exception.  I watched you when you were first born by thirteen minutes before your brother.  They put you in an isolet and I awaited your cry….which did not come immediately.  Concerned, I asked the doctor what was wrong and he said, “he’s waiting…he knows his brother is yet to come.  Wait, once his brother is born, then he will cry.”  And, Dr. Hager was correct.  The minute your brother was born, you cried loud and clear. 

I watched you watch your brother in the isolet while we had to stay because he had jaundice so bad they had to put him under the “lights”.  Your little “trying-to-focus” eyes would search for him next to you.  It was a common occurrence for me to check on you both and you would have your thumb in your brother’s mouth like a pacifier and/or you would have an arm wrapped around him.  These things are truths about you…even as a newborn infant. 

I watched you do things “first” when we were expecting your more active and assertive brother to go first.  You were first to roll over, first to crawl and first to walk.  However, this was not expected because you were so quiet and calm.  It seemed as if your younger brother would do things ahead of you, but he did not. 

While I didn’t watch this happen, this event was relayed to me by your Dad….when you were five, the three of you (dad, brother and you) were at a basketball game.  Your brother was bouncing a basketball as large as was he and he was good!  You were playing several yards away.  A bigger kid (probably 6 or 7) walked over to your brother and tried to take the ball from him.  The big kid was winning until you…..you ran as fast as you can and tackled the big kid, causing him to drop the ball.  Your brother ran over, collected his ball, and started dribbling it again and you went back to your own play.  Like nothing happened.  Like that is what “big” brothers do, even if they are only big by 13 minutes.

There are so many times in your life where you calmly and carefully took control of situations with no fanfare or applause, quietly going about your business of playing and having fun!  I have many of them journaled in your “K” journal…..they are little treasured moments in my heart which I never want to forget. 

From an early age, your strong yet kind heart was evidenced by your behavior, actions and words.  Yours is a heart I prayed diligently for even before you were born….stoic, strong, kind, tender and Godly.

And, while at seventeen, it sometimes gets hidden behind a façade of “being cool” or surviving in a world of teenaged angst, there never is a moment I cannot see is shining through in your actions and behaviors, words and deeds. 

And, I am so very grateful. 

You have a very high sense of right and wrong, bad versus good, Godly versus sinful.  Does that mean you perfectly live as you should?  No, I think we both know better than that.  But, ultimately, at the end of the day, you seem to always revert to the great heart you are and are meant to be.

 Your sense of “fair play”, honest evaluation, taking time to get the bigger picture of individual is a joy to watch develop.  You have a heart which seems to want to “do right” and that speaks volumes.

You are just now “emerging” into the person God intends you to be and it is such a joy to watch.  You are figuring out who you are and what you stand for.  You ask good questions about hard issues in difficult circumstances. 

I don’t know how to word this, but I like watching your heart “at work”…..you make decisions which we are able to view and I am really touched by your sincerity and kindness.  You save hard for a car and yet will loan funds to a friend in need.  You do more than your share on projects, keeping gas in the car and helping me.

You speak sweetly of your “friend who is a girl” and seem to want to “guard” her while she is with you.  I would love to have your sister find a young man to date who is like you.

You are honest.  You tell me when you are angry, hurt and scared.  You are brave.  You hold my hand even in front of your friends and when I express concern, you say, “Mama, I will hold you hand if I want to..I don’t care what they think.”

You are able to focus on others and not live in the self-centered life so many teens do.

You are a forgiver.

You know how to apologize.   

We had a little “argument” the other day about the car and I was very angry at you because you blatantly disobeyed me.  In addition, you said some pretty cruel words to me.  I was crushed because this was not “you”.  But, I was so touched….you came to me, asked if we could talk and sincerely apologized.  You didn’t make excuses.  You simply took responsibility and apologized.  And then you hugged me….hard…..like a son who was truly sorry he had hurt his mother.

And, then…..you said, “Mama, let’s not ever fight again.  I cannot stand ever doing this again.  I don’t want to hurt you like that. Let’s let this be our first…and, our last.”

Makes me tear up just remembering….makes me grateful.

I believe God gives Mamas children to grow Mamas into the Godly women HE intends us to be.  Each beloved child brings to a Mama his/her own gifts, values, heart.  A wise Mama learns from her children much more than she ever can hope to teach them.

I am learning many things from you….most of them about the “heart”….

Blessings, 

Mama

 

 

If It’s Monday, It’s Mama (on time this week) 

Good Morning, Sweet Daughter…. 

It was good to have you home this weekend, to tell you jokes and laugh, to hear you sweetly breathing in your room, to watch you count your savings and make plans for how to spend it, to listen as you tell me about some of your future plans….sweetness all wrapped up in you. 

You are growing…. 

I see growth and maturity in you in so many areas and it makes me proud of you and for you.  I see a growing positivity in your attitude and demeanor.  Where I used to see a “who cares” mentality, or “life sucks” view, I now see a “I care” and a “life is what I make it attitude”. 

I see an appreciation for the life God has given you, an acceptance of mistakes you have made, a repentance and turning away from that life and a growth into a healthier and more committed to God existence. 

I see forgiveness in your heart toward others and boundaries in your decisions on how to live with some.   

I see focus.  Setting goals and accomplishing them.  Graduation in 2014, plans for trips to foreign countries, possible adoption. 

But, most importantly, I see you reaching out to God for direction in all of the above…. 

Do you have it all perfectly figured out?  Oh no, and that is okay.  I am 50 and I still do not.  Grammy and Poppy are in their 70s and they would tell you that even they do not. 

But, the foundation you are building for your life is healing and growing and  becoming stronger each and every day. 

I know there are still areas in your life with which you struggle. They are seen in your facebook posts, your blogs and your words, but even in those, I see maturity….a growing faith that God will guide you in even these things. 

I can make very few promises to you, even as your Mother.  But, there is one promise I can assure you will come to pass… 

When you give your heart, your life, your soul over to God, when you place it in His hands under all circumstances and at all times, then you will have the best life you can possibly have.  Does that mean it will be stress free?  Heartache free? Painless?  Only joy-filled?   

Oh no….it does not mean that at all. 

What it does mean that you will have a life which you will be grateful to have lived…..the one God has for you.

I love it when I get up in the morning from a night when you have worked from 6 pm until 7 am.  Obviously, you have been reading your Bible, because your facebook is filled with Bible verses (and, an occasional quote about men)  LOL.

Precious in His sight are those who study His word. 

I told Ian that you absolutely melted my heart this weekend when you were so overjoyed at finding your favorite, long-lost pink Bible we had bought for you.  I know God had to smile real big at your excitement!  And, it was a privilege to join Him!! 

What a joy and what a blessing for a parent to watch a child grow in Him…..these moments are little treasures a mother carries in her heart forever. 

I love that even with all you have been through, your image of God as a kind and loving Father has remained intact.  To me, that is evidence of a humble heart. 

I pray God bless and bless you in your life with just exactly what you need to live the life God planned for you even before He knit you in my womb.

I pray you continue to build a strong foundation in Him. 

I pray God blanket you with His protection from things which would harm you and lavish you with things which will encourage, inspire and draw you closer to Him. 

Keep seeking God with all of your Heart! 

For HE will never disappoint and will always be your greatest blessing.   

ILYAOYMC,

 Mama

 

Sometimes, You Cannot Do It Alone…

 I am excited.  For a gift to me, Ian has hired a trainer to work with me on my daily lifestyle.  I don’t want to say diet, because I don’t want to diet.  I want to be healthy not live according to a diet plan and I want to do this every day for the rest of my life, not just during a season of dieting.

While I want to lose weight, what I really want more is to be lean and healthy in all ways…physically, mentally and spiritually.  I have the “want to”.  I have the growing discipline.  What I don’t have is the full discipline and the full know how.  Thus, the trainer.

In my initial meeting, I told one of the trainers, “I don’t want to become some fitness beast who is so obsessed with their own physical fitness that all else in their live takes a back seat.  What I want is common sense fitness to grow my body into a healthy form so that I am better able to serve others and to be my best self.”

I believe that our bodies are vessels given to us by God and  the better we care for them, the better able we are to do the work we are called to do.  Thus, having a healthy one, is vital to our lives.

There are obstacles I have in my path to fitness.  Some are very clear to me.  Some are just ideals.  Some are not yet known but will become known as I work toward the direction of better  health.  Ultimately, all of it will require work.

And, truth.

To make a change in any facet of our lives, you have to begin with a foundation of truth. 

As I told my trainer….the image I see in my mirror does not match the image in my heart.  How can we reconcile those two?

She laughed….and, then was serious.

“Sometimes, you cannot.”

I cannot??  Then, why am I here??

Very kindly but very definitively, she said, “sometimes…..you have to let go of the old image and paint a new one.”

She explained, “sometimes in life, when you base your future on what you have seen or done in the past, the image is skewed….and, no matter how hard you try to erase or change the old image, you cannot do it.”  “Sometimes, it is better to paint a new one.  Truly laying down past thoughts and ideas about yourself and growing new, different thoughts.”

It’s like being “re-drawn”.

So, I looked hard at my trainer and said, “please explain yourself.”

And, so she did.  And, it made sense.

And, I saw truth in what she said mainly because she said true change begins with truth with yourself.  That is a “truth” on which both she and I can agree.

She said those who do the best on becoming healthy are those who learn to be firmly honest with themselves.  Honest about where they are currently and honest about how hard they are willing to work to get to where they need to be for a healthy body.

She said “all health begins with full truth”.

But, that is the easiest part.  She said most people can admit that they are unhealthy, unfit, undisciplined.  Some, in fact, brag that they know they are this way and that they will just have to live with themselves because there is nothing they can do to change it.  In the name of “self-acceptance”, they will just have to accept their unhealthy bodies and minds and so will others around them.

They would be wrong.

She said a certain few get past their surface truth, and to the core truth in their lives and make changes which forever impact their lives in a healthy and positive way.

They paint a new picture of themselves.

I am a pretty down-to-earth kind of girl, but this makes sense to me. 

So, part of my goal in working with a trainer is having them assist me in painting a new picture.

Of myself.

One which is truthful in where I am, honest in where I want to be and can be and one which is committed…moment by moment…to being the best self I can be.

And, maybe in doing so, I will get more fit….in all ways.

Bring on the “trainer”…..not just with my physical health but in all aspects of my life.

Oh wait....HE's been there all along.....bring on a better "student" in me!

Blessings,

Lesa

 

 

 

If It Is Friday, It is Monday plus four days….

Okay, so this has been a crazy, busy time at our home these past few weeks.  Thus, the lateness of this week’s “letter” to you.  Ladder and I have been discussing my weekly note to you and he would like to join me on occasion, if that is permissible….

This week, Ladder wanted to bless you with scripture….from Him:

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

“Madison, I believe this verse has many applications.  Spiritually, if we keep doing what God asks us, we will reap eternal life and will lead others to Him.  If applied personally, this verse means if we do good and work hard in school, we reap good grades, an education and a secure and productive career.  In dating, if you keep yourself pure and good and God-centered and moral and look for Godly men, you will reap a husband who will love you as Christ loves the church.  You do not ever want another type of love…for all others will be hollow and empty in comparison.  If you do this, you will find a mate who will truly “love you more than all the sunrises in the East and sunsets in the West.  And, this is my prayer for you.

As you make friends, always treat them as you want them to treat you, and as God calls us to treat one another, and, you will reap true and real lifelong friendships.  So whatever you do in life, when times are tough, or you are tempted, remember…always do good and never give up because in that, you will find God and His promises.

Look not to your mother or me or any human for your example to follow….for following a human, even those who love you deeply and securely as your Mama and I do, will lead you to disappointment.  Follow God in how you live your life….and you do that by knowing HIM through His word…..

Always look at your Bible as a true “love letter” to you from God…because it is.

I could not love you more if you were my own flesh and blood daughter and want you to know that I will always stand before you, behind you and beside you as you walk through this world.  But, God is your true Father and He is the one who will lead you to the beautiful life He has in store for you.

I love you, Snicklebritches,

I am blessed to be your Ladder…it is an unexpected but much beloved gift.”

Ian

 

Closure.....September 7, 2012

Closure....

September 7, 1985 - May 2, 2011
9,369 days or 25 years, 7 months, 26 days

If It’s Monday, It’s Mama (written on Thursday….now I understand why the delay) 

To my Sweet Madison Elizabeth Jewel…… 

Since Monday was Labor Day, I vacationed from writing.  But, on Tuesday, I had no words.  Wednesday was no different.  As you know sweet daughter that is unusual, even for me….(said with a smile).

Now I know why. 

Rather than focus on all the happenings in your life these past few days (car, flood, school), I want to let you know something about you…

You are growing.

You are maturing.

You are walking closer to God. 

It is evident in how you are learning to handle things. 

You said to me almost a year ago to the day, “Mama….you know…when you can have peace and quiet and calm in your life, you can give better thought to how you are going to handle things and you make better decisions”.  (actually, you were a little more blunt than that about how differently our lives were).

 At the time, if you remember, I cried. 

You didn’t say those words to help me, but they did. 

In a sea of anguish, your words inadvertently let me know the hard decisions I had made had, in fact, led you to a place where you could have calm and peace and quiet….a place where better decision-making could be made.  Please forgive me for not taking that path earlier in your life.  Please forgive me for allowing you to get to that wrong path to start out with…and, I know you do. 

And so, here you are today…. 

I am not certain why some people have a few more hurdles in life to handle than do others. 

But, in this I am very confident.  Your ability to understand and have perspective on your life is something of which I am very proud.  You understand that so many suffer….hurt…..have sorrow in ways which are beyond our ability to imagine. 

I understand you are working on outwardly expressing less and inwardly focusing more…..you are a youthful 22.  But, I am grateful for the steps you are taking to “take charge” of your life and work through your past so that your future will be one which gives God all the glory. 

I know with my Mother’s heart, if you will continue to lean on HIM, HE will show you your path for your life…..and, He is even now.

I pray daily that all that you have learned in your 22 years, you will be able to use to serve others.

 I have changed the way I pray for you…. 

Now, I pray for God to gift you with a joyful, calm and peaceful life.  That HE protect you from harm and that He lead you to Godly decisions.  That God give you the discernment to make wise and thoughtful choices.  That he will remove road-blocks in your path. 

I pray that from the top of your blonde head to the bottom of your little stinky feet, that God will BLESS your life immeasurably…. 

That you will throw your heart and soul into living for Him and that He will protect your soul so that you can.

I pray for boldness…..the ability to decline sinful behavior.   

Mostly, I pray in thanksgiving….that of all of the babies in the entire universe, for some reason I will never fully understand, He has given you to me.  Your mama….mother….friend.   Not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks to Him for you… 

I ask that you take a few minutes to read Psalm 51…… 

God’s greatest gift to us is to love us unconditionally….all the time…in all ways. 

Our gift in return is to love ourselves…the vessel He has made us to be and to share that love with others giving credit to God so that others may come to WANT to know Him because they have met us.

I leave you with this Mother’s blessing…..I pray, starting this very moment, that God protect you from harm, lead you to wise-thought and forever help you to fully understand what a precious Jewel you are to Him….to me….to us.

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Details….Evidence that “Love really does Live Here”

It is always such that when my children are away from me for extended periods, which is a rare occurrence, my thoughts give sway to the little details I miss when they surround me.  I am not certain why that happens….maybe that is God’s way of breathing life back into a Mom’s life to refresh and renew her for the times when child and Mom are together. Perhaps it is for her to re-grow a GRATEFUL heart for these gifts God has given her.

This focusing on the little details does not happen all of a sudden, the minute the children leave..bustling out the door, overnight bags in hand, quick goodbyes and brief hugs given…in daughter’s case an “I love you…work hard” or “have fun” as she heads out to work or on a date.

It happens quietly mostly.

As I lay in bed, it comes in the non-noise of the house, where little IPods normally would play in the morning or in the non-singing in the shower as children are not here to get ready for the next event in their life.

Doors to bedrooms normally closed, almost shut, are wide-mouth opened as if to shout…they are not here today…they are off on a grand adventure!

I notice things not more, but differently, when my children are not warming the heart of our home…and, it is in the littlest of ways that I know they are off..

I hear the birds at our window singing as if to keep me company in the absence of children’s speak.

I peek out windows and see leaves on ledges, evidence of the coming of Fall and reminding me of once-little hands which drew and hung leaves in our kitchen…a Fall art project.

I walk past daughter’s room and see evidence of her college life in the books and homework laying on the bed which is mingled with the blue of medical uniforms awaiting laundering and the smell of the sweet scent which is reminiscent of a walk down a peach grove in Georgia.  My daughter’s room is like opening a treasure box of all the things which matter to her in life….blanketed around her space like a bracelet around her heart.

I walk softly and barefoot down the hall to my oldest-by-thirteen minutes- son to find a neat and tidy abode with posters no mother really appreciates but allows as his expression of free speech.  This son is a worker as evidenced by golden arch uniforms and he is a lover of books of which there are many.  Locked up boxes and treasure chests from his youth are given places of honor among the adult wallet, phone chargers and favorite photo of our beloved family dog.  It is a man-child room with equal blending of manly necessities and childish treasures. 

Finally, at the end of the hall I walk to my youngest-by-thirteen minutes-son’s room.  Neatness and tidiness is not his goal as is evidenced by a room whose inhabitant flys in and out of it in a fast and furious flurry.  Sports gear is all thrown to one side, date night clothing sport a spot on the desk.  Books are not so abundant but treasures are.  Notes to and from a girlfriend, rocks collected as a little boy, wet stone given to remind him of a recent service adventure to Whetstone Boys Camp.  Bed clothes barely mussed, clothes hardly hung, clearly this son spends many hours elsewhere in the house but it holds a warmth and manly scent of a boy becoming a man which lingers out his door and down the hall.

And, in those little moments when my prayers for my children flows through their hallway and upon their room, I pause in gratefulness.  They are not perfect children, but they are mine. 

Is this, I ask myself in the quiet, how God feels about us?

It is a gift I do not take in even the slightest, lightest fashion.

I like to think I know them well.  I pray I know them some.

Mothering a child is a humble occupation.  Whether you stay at home with your babies or work outside the home, I am not sure it matters.  What matters is that you live in authenticity and truth with them.

You can only do that if you hold their hand and walk with God.

You can only do that if you personally are walking with God.

It is the one thing a mother can do which will make all the difference to her children.  Walk….constantly, consistently and whole-heartedly with God.

I am growing past the stage of needing to constantly remind myself and everyone around me that YES, I know that I have failed in this endeavor many times.  That, no, not even in the slightest measure, have I been the perfect mother.  It is no longer my goal. Now, my goal is to be honest with my children about my imperfections and point them to Him who is perfect….but greater still, who does not expect in them perfection, but rather in glorifying. Him.

So, on this Sunday, as my children spend time away from me, I am grateful.

That God would so find it in his heart to entrust me with such a treasure….

I am humbled beyond measure.

I am grateful beyond words.

And, I pray that never do I take lightly this gift of Motherhood….

That all of the little details HE sets in our home to remind me of what a blessing I have been given, are etched upon my heart in such a way as to carry me through when life would ask that I forget…

What great treasures I have been given….

Blessings,

Lesa

If It’s Monday, It’s Mama

 

Week 2, Junior Year 

 I spoke with you early this am….I texted you at a time when I thought you would be getting ready to leave work and go to school.  We spoke “business”….school, books, tuition, the “un-fun” things of life, but the necessary.

Those are conversations I don’t always enjoy because anytime you speak of hard work and hard things, the discussion can be hard. 

I left our conversation wishing I had just texted you “Good Morning, ILYAOYMC”. 

Sometimes, the mother in me wants to talk out the business of life so you can set your feet on the right path.  But, oft times, what would be a better thing to do is to just love you and let you figure it out for yourself.

After speaking with you, I then had a similar experience with your brothers. 

What is wrong with today??? 

I felt like going back to bed and putting the covers over my head…. 

And, then I thought…

No….there are those who have such greater challenges in their lives than do we.  We have battled through much in our life as a family, we can handle this little thing of a bad business Monday.

So, instead, I prayed.

I prayed that God would give you the energy to get to school from Lexington (after a 13 hour shift with no sleep).  I prayed for peace to fill your heart.  I prayed that God would favor you in some way today so that you would see Him working in your life.

I prayed that the “business” of school would fall into place, that work would allow you a reprieve in hours so that you can do your school work.  I prayed for book purchases, financial aid and parental assistance to aid you.

I mostly prayed for your faith to grow large. 

A lot of life is about taking our struggles, worries, insecurities, frustrations, broken heartedness, and even or feelings of loss and giving them over to God and NOT taking them back.

I pray you grow in the ability to do this.

Mostly, I prayed that as you went through your day, you felt God’s love, the love of your family, the hope for your future, the faith that God has good things planned for you.

I prayed that He would replace negative thoughts with positive intentions.

I prayed for you to physically get rest and emotionally grow peace.

I prayed for laughter in your room and joy in your step.

It is 1:27pm and I have frankly prayed off and on most of this day.

And, I will continue to pray….knowing that God hears us and answers us.

I love you.  I pray your “Monday” turns out wonderful.  I hope you can get outside, even if for but a few moments, and walk barefoot in the ravine.  I hope you can get some fresh air and exercise and eat healthy.

I pray that the end of this Monday is turned into something beautiful.  Maybe God will put in your path a new friend, or a person you are able to help, or a trip to Wal-mart to buy binders which you can organize and decorate so you feel more in control of your studies.

I will end this day as I should have started it….but telling you what is really on my mother’s heart.

It is very simple.

 

I Love You….As Only Your Mama Can.

Forever and one day,

If a Mother’s prayers make any difference in a daughter’s life,

 

Then, you can be comforted in knowing that your day has been blanketed.

ILYAOYMC,

Mama

 

Never Forget....

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

 

 

 

 

 

If It is Monday, It is Mama…..Week 1, Junior Year 

“This past month I have prayed for strength and the ability to cling to hope. This next month, I will be praying to have unconditional faith in God, and patience.”    ~Madison McKenzie

When a mother has cause to catch a glimpse into her daughter’s prayer life, it is a Holy opportunity.  When that daughter is specific in her prayer life, you know the goodness of God.  

And, so thus I was blessed to read the prayer matters of my 22 year old daughter this past weekend.  Included in pink above, I was moved to my knees in gratefulness that I have a daughter who prays not only in her heart but also in black and white.  I believe what you write, you are more likely to achieve. 

So, as I make this page 476 of my lengthy, three-year letter to Madison, “If It Is Monday, It is Mama”, I am humbled…and grateful to have a praying daughter.

Sis, 

It is Monday.  You worked a long, 13 hour night shift at ESH and then traveled on to Richmond to attend your first class of your Junior year at my Alma Mata.  Your text to me in the day’s early hour to let me know you were on your way to campus was a gift to my morning.  By sharing with me your leaving time, I was able to stop what I was doing and pray for your travel safety, that God would give you a reprieve from the fatigue of no sleep and that he would bless your day.  Thank you for sharing your life with me…I am just certain you texted me prior to drivingJ

You and I have been blessed to pray much together, I guess we knew we needed the covering of prayer…and, it has worked.  God has been faithful to keep His hand on us these past 50 and 22 years. 

It is true that when a mother births a child, she has dreams and wishes in her heart of just how that child would grow…I was no exception.  But, very quickly I learned….my image of what you should be was not always in line with what God’s will for you would be.

I wished for you an easy, uncomplicated, simple life.  I wished for mostly happy and fun time with very few challenges.  I wished that joy and peace and love would blanket your heart and keep it safe from ever being hurt or sad or disappointed.  From day nine….April 19^th of your life, it was clear that God had other plans for you….plans to make you strong and independent and sage.  Plans to have a heart too tender and a soul very gentle.

I was not prepared. 

I was not prepared to raise a daughter whose tenderness was so vast that she would get swallowed by life unless she had strong parents to continually lead her back to God and in a Godly way. 

But, God was. 

And, because He was, you are where you are today…on the cuff of starting your life in service to Him.  You work hard, you play hard (sometimes in ways I do not understand) and you love hard. 

Are you perfect?  No

Are you finished?  No

Are you clearly Gods?

Yes…oh yes 

It is a privilege and honor to be your mother.  It is a privilege to watch you move through your life ever learning, sometimes falling, but always picking yourself back up and getting back on the path God has for you.

Grateful I am that God, who knew you before you were born, has a plan…to prosper you and not harm you, to walk beside you and guide you along. 

Grateful I am that you understand that following Him will make “all the difference”…. 

So, as you set off for your first day of classes, this your Junior year, know how grateful I am that you have this opportunity.

As Poppy always says, “Go forth….and do good”…. 

Blessings upon blessings my sweet daughter,

ILYAOYMC, 

Mama