Blessed Mommy
Luke 1:28 'And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" '
Wow. Who wouldn't want God saying that about them?! I know I sure do. In this passage, the angel Gabriel is greeting Mary, soon to be virgin mother of Jesus. The word blessed has several meanings in the ancient Greek. In this Greek translation the word is eulogeo, meaning to speak well of. Now, stop for a second and think about how this verse pertains to you. Let it really sink in. In what area of your life is the Lord, your Father speaking well of? Now, think of your children and how you praise them. There is a parallel here. I was just boasting to my husband about our son's ability to say the words 'shoe & poop' and how our daughter now sings along to the radio. Pretty simple right? How can I NOT speak well over my children? Same goes for you and God. While I have not been greeted by angels, or had an immaculate conception, I believe God can say the same about an ordinary mommy of two children who is certainly not perfect, but tries to love well.
Miracle Believing Mommy
Luke 1:37 'For with God nothing will be impossible.'
Mary was approached by the angel Gabriel with the message that this virgin woman was about to conceive the Son of God. Now stop and imagine yourself in Mary's shoes. She, like any woman would do in this situation, asked 'How?!'. Gabriel reassured her, 'For with God nothing will be impossible.' Wow. NOTHING?? Really God?? YES! Isn't that exciting?! Now here's the kicker for me, 'with God.' I don't know about you, but I tend to think I am Super Woman some days, trying to accomplish everything in my own strength. This usually leaves me spun out, frustrated and more exhausted than I should be by the time my head falls heavy on my pillow. Between heaping piles of stinky stained laundry, exploding poopy diapers, and standing in line at the store catching dirty looks while my children grab packs of gum off the shelf, pulling each others hair-I have some intense days. But WITH GOD, things would be so much easier. He wants to be in all the moments, especially the hard ones, no matter the size. Why? Because He is God who specializes in making the impossible possible. Now the string of events I described are tedious and meaningless when stood up next to things like sickness and tragedy. Have faith and ask for help. Look where it got Mary, mommy to the Son of God. Do you believe in His miracle working power? Hebrews 13:8 tells us, ' Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today in forever.' Therefore, the same miracle working power that God used in Mary's life, applies to you and I this very moment. If you aren't convinced, talk to God about it. I bet He's waiting with a smile.
Patience PLEASE
I think it is pretty safe to say that we could all use a little more patience some days. Being a mommy of two small children, sometimes my patience meter is as empty as my wallet after an amazing shoe sale. I am only human, so making mistakes is something I know enough about. Yet, I am tested pretty regularly on how patient I can be (especially with my two little ones in the back seat, sitting in traffic, listening to one scream while the other is repeating the same word 1,472 times AND we are being wafted by the scent of a freshly pooped diaper). So, this got me thinking about Mary and how her patience may have been. For a moment, I tried to imagine what it would be like to be told by an angel that I was going to be pregnant with the Son of God. What would it be like to be pregnant for nine months, waiting and wondering what your son will look like and not being able to imagine it since he does not have your husband's genes? What feelings would be going on in regards to how eager you would be to meet your son, yet your Savior? How do you prepare for any of this without Divinely appointed patience? This leads me to think that Mary's patience ran deeper than mine since these thoughts are pretty normal for a pregnant woman in her circumstance to wonder. This urges me to tap into God's reservoir of patience deeper than before. 'But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.' James 1:4 Let's just remind ourselves that perfection of anything does not come without growth or change that may very well be a bit uncomfortable, especially the perfect work of patience.
A Real FriEND Loves to the END
When reading Luke chapter 1, we learn that Mary and Elizabeth are relatives. They both have become pregnant by the Grace of God and Elizabeth is about 6 months further along than Mary. When Mary is told of Elizabeth's pregnancy she quickly goes into the hill country to visit Elizabeth and stays with her for about 3 months. After reading this, I let it sink in for a moment. The scripture leads me to believe that Mary was in her 1st trimester when she made the trek into the hills to see Elizabeth. Ok, Mary did not simply book her online ticket through Southwest, catch a cab to the airport and then have a friend pick her up upon arrival. I imagine she walked into those hills, probably very tired at times, with crazy food cravings and maybe even fighting morning sickness. Who knows what she wore and how much she packed! All so that she could be with her friend. Yes, I think they were friends. Scripture tells us that Mary and Elizabeth were relatives, but in my opinion, they had to have had a friendship within their blood linked relations. I mean seriously, would you walk from one town to another up hill while you were pregnant to see someone that was just a relative? On top of that, to stay with another pregnant woman for the last 3 months of her pregnancy while you are pregnant yourself, is dedication and love. They must have had a very close, genuine, friendship and relationship. This got me thinking about the women in my life. If I want to be a better friend, cousin, daughter- you fill in the blank, Mary sets a pretty high standard of selflessness. I suppose that is why she was chosen to birth Jesus. To be honest, some days it seems too difficult to send a text much less a phone call to a sweet lady in my life. Some days I have got it quite backwards. Too often I let life get busy and relationships lie wasting when they should be freshly loved upon and given to. Does this ring a bell with anyone or am I alone in this? If it sounds familiar, let's go the extra mile today (and maybe a little uphill) to let that person know you love them and God does too. More times than not, words do not even need to be spoken, just the action of selfless Love itself.
You Want to Judge Me?
I was in the grocery store this morning with my 1 and 2 year old children, and I was TOTALLY judged by another woman. I am not going to tell you the details as they are not really pertinent to the act of the judgement itself. Honestly, my first emotions were of embarrassment, hurt, and then arrow piercing fury. I immediately left the store without saying anything to the woman (which was a good thing at that point) and when I was putting my children back in their car seats Mary, mother of Jesus, popped in my mind. Pretty random huh? No, I think God was reminding me I am not the only woman, or mother, who has been or will be unjustifiably judged. I wonder if word got out in Mary's community that she had Divinely conceived the Savior of the world. Can you imagine what her neighbors would have thought and said about her, the crazy looks she may have got? I wonder if that would have bothered her, or if she was able to hold fast to the promises God gave her, not thinking twice on the opinion of someone else. Mary had a distinct God given purpose and she knew it. God has given you & I the same. Of the million and one things that purpose could be, they are all just as important when deemed by Him. He created all of us with and in purpose and no silly judgmental woman (or anyone else) can ever take that from us. I am the first one to say that unjust thoughts of others have crept into my head; I wish that were not the case. The point is, who I am and who are you to judge anyone? Thankfully, God is the judge and He knows our hearts better than we do ourselves. I wish I could have smiled at that woman today, thanked her for her unwanted words and asked her for a tissue to wipe the snot trailing from my son's nose towards his top lip. I am not ashamed to be a sometimes exhausted mother of two beautiful toddlers with food smeared on their faces and loud vocal cords. I am purposed and so are they.
Mommies Cannot Outgrow Daddy's Love
I just wrapped up a wonderful week long visit by my Dad. Living in separate States, sometimes visit are too few and far between. We had sooo much fun together as a family! He plays quite the role in our house: Dad, Father in Law and Grampa all at once. I whirlwind between Mommy, Wife and Daughter, although being the child can feel a bit unfamiliar at times. No matter what the role being played, it was so nice to hug my Daddy good morning as well as get kisses good night. I don't think a Mommy ever gets too old for her Daddy. Through all the stages of growth in life, that is something we cannot ever outgrow. I know I am blessed to have an earthly Dad that loves me well and know that there are too many people who do not. My Dad's visit also got me thinking about God's love for us, as He is the ultimate Dad, not leaving anyone orphaned or unloved. He is waiting for us with open arms, hoping we receive His love. He wants us to ask Him for everything, no matter how silly or small it may seem to us. That's what Daddy's do, they love and give unconditionally of themselves. It brings Him joy love us. No matter which Daddy you have in your life- earthly, heavenly or both, let his love for you sink deep into your heart. No child can never outgrow or outrun their Daddy's love for them. Sink into your Daddy's arms and experience His love for you.
Living Hope
Today I woke up and needed some Hope. I think this is a great thing, especially since it- He, is available. Thank God that we do not live a hopeless life. Whatever the circumstance may be, we have genuine Hope in our living God who is not only in us, working through us, but walking with us while holding our hand. You know, Mary lived about 9 months of her life with Hope literally living and breathing inside of her as baby Jesus. It is pretty incredible if you think about it. But, even more so, you and I live as, 'temples of the Holy Spirit,' (1 Corinthians 6:19) today, over 2,000 years past Mary's experience. He, Hope, lives in us today too! If you really try to wrap your mind and heart around this, it can be life changing and circumstance shaking. God confirms this treasure for us is Colossians 1:27, saying, 'God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.' Live a Hope filled day!
Best Mommy Job Ever
I have a very strong willed two and a half year old daughter whom I love to bits. I cannot place blame on her inherent personality trait without turning a nerve rattled finger towards myself. Don't get me wrong, she is the most nurturing and loving child I know. It's just when she is asked to do something she does not want to do that a problem tends to arise. My husband and I believe in discipline and giving our children healthy and respectful boundaries to operate in. Spanking, timeouts or taking privileges away are all forms of discipline that are designed for the well being of our children. Today I started thinking about Mary, mother of Jesus, after disciplining my daughter. Jesus is perfect, blameless, Holy, without sin. This I know. I have not however, ever thought about this in terms of Jesus as a toddler. Did Mary get the BEST Mommy job on planet?! Think about it. No sin means never disrespecting or testing the waters to see where the limit lies before the spanking comes. Mary would have never had to even think about spanking versus timeout or teach how to apologize to another child for hitting them or yanking a toy from their hand in selfishness. In all realness of the word, Mary did have the PERFECT child. Has anyone else ever thought about this? I would love to hear your thoughts!
No comments:
Post a Comment