The Love of a Mother...

Their smiles... their tears... watching them while they're sleeping...
I love to watch them when they have no idea... their care free spirits... their realness...

I wonder if they could ever imagine the love that overflows in my heart for each of them...
I wonder if they realize that their souls are intertwined with mine...
When they hurt I hurt...
When they laugh I laugh...
When they long I long...

Sometimes the frustrations we feel as mothers can be overwhelming... sometimes we just feel like giving up... then you look into their eyes and the heart pull is so strong.

Sometimes it seems useless and they just will never learn or understand...

I watched him this afternoon outside... he didn't know I was watching... his strong hands playing with the dog... his smile and jolly demeanor... his sensitive nature for all creatures...

I watched him today walking through the yard... looking around for his brothers... he is growing so fast and becoming a man...  in between little boy and big boy...

I watched him today as he strode up the stairs... manly and strong... so handsome... quiet natured and deep... I have always said that deep waters run silent... that is his soul...

I watched her today as she drove away... a young woman she is becoming... working her way in the world... trying to find herself and know herself... she is so tender hearted and warm, yet with a wild streak...

When I look at them and watch... my heart wants nothing more than to protect them from every harm in the world...  to just make them listen to me and trust what I tell them...
Then I remember myself when I was that age... experience

Prayer is a mothers weapon... it is our ever trust worthy weapon in this war fare for their souls...  We can never give up praying, trusting the Father... praying that hedge about them...

"Love is unselfish, understanding, and kind, for it sees with its heart and not with its mind.  Love gives and forgives; there is nothing too much for love to heal with its magic touch.  Love is the language that every heart speaks, for love is the one thing that every heart seeks.  And where there is love God, too,will abide and bless the family residing inside."  Helen Steiner Rice

Until next time,
Jean

"A soft answer turneth away wrath..."

How I wish I could incorporate this into my life as much as I would like too... because it really does work.  I have been on both ends... an angry answer as well as a soft answer... and I can honestly say the later works better.  Some people hurt others with words, others with a silent treatment while others use hateful tactics to defame others... which ever, they are all wrong.  How do we practice a loving and tender way to others when they hurt us?  How do we turn the other cheek when we want to hit back?  How do we give them our coat when they already took our cloak?  These principles are taught in the New Testament by Jesus and they are a basic guild to help us love our enemies... whether they be a total stranger, the neighbor or a family member... we must love as Christ loved. The Christian walk is a daily trial... one that is filled with testings along with peaceful walks in the valley... it is a constant growing and maturing. We are children of the Heavenly King, and we need to act as such... even when it is really hard. 

But what about when we fail and fall flat on our faces... what about when we do the things we try so hard to not do... what about when we have done our best but it just isn't good enough...

We need to look up... He will lift us back to our feet as we cry out, "Abba Father..." He will wipe the tears away... He will say, "Let's keep pressing on together, I am by your side..." 

As the song goes, 'Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey..."
Until next time,
Jean
       

Expectations and Thankfulness...

Life is filled with expectations that don't always pan out...

When we experience tribulations and trials what do we do?  Do we turn to the Lord, but when He doesn't answer us as quickly as we think He should or not quite how we wanted to we turn to ourselves... the world around.... God says in Isaiah that His ways are not our ways, and our time is not His... can we trust in that?  

When a child is born it is a demanding creature... it needs to be... it is totally dependent upon the caregiver for food, warmth and all of it's basic human needs.  It has to be able to let us know when it needs changed and is hungry... Children as they grow older still can be demanding and they still  have expectations.  They expect that when they wake up in the morning they are going to have clean clothes to put on, toothpaste to brush their teeth, warm water and soap to take a shower and a nice fuzzy towel to dry off with... then they will expect to have a nice breakfast waiting for them and of course a cheery 'good morning!'  Their lives are filled with expectations that are more than likely fulfilled  by their parents.  Younger children have no concept of how any of these things get there, they simply trust that they will be.  As they grow older they start to understand that dad and/or mom 'work' for all this stuff and hopefully are learning to not so much expect, but more appreciate and be thankful that the stuff is always there....

The teaching of this thankfulness can be the real job at hand... teaching children to understand how things are acquired needs to be shown through both example as well as practice on the parents part. 

It is like that as well with our Heavenly Father... in the beginning of our christian walk things are a bit easier and things come a bit more quickly. As we mature and we are not such babes in Christ, the trials become a bit more... this is to help us grow in trust and faith...  growing pains can be difficult, but we must believe 'that He will never give us anymore than we can bear and He will always make a way of escape for us...' 

Trust builds faith, faith builds trust,
Until next time,
Jean
     

Discouragement...

Some days seem longer than others... it's been rainy here the last couple days... thunder and lightening woke us up through the night.  I love thunder storms and I have always tried to teach my children there is nothing to be afraid of in them.  God is in total control over those things.  I have told the children the thunder is like God riding in His chariot... the thunder is the horses hooves galloping over the storm clouds... the lightening are His arrows against evil... God will always come out victoriously!  Too say the least none of my children are afraid of thunderstorms... I want them to know that God is in them... He loves & cares for us, no matter what! 

The challenge can be when the trials in life come upon us... to show that faith in God to our children... Often times one of the children will come and tell me how they can't find this or that, full of worry and fret.  I always ask them, "did you pray?"... sheepishly they will say 'no' sometimes and others they say 'of course'... So they pray and it never fails, the Lord shows them right where it is... Faith.  Although there have been times when they can't find something and they did pray... I tell them, "God always answers prayer... sometimes He says 'yes', other times He says 'no' and sometimes He say's 'not right now'..  Faith...but He always answers!  I remember a time last summer when Ethan was looking for a tool... he can be the one that get's frustrated a bit more quickly... but suddenly he came running over to Neil and I and burst out, "I found it, God showed me where it was!"  Off he ran to finish his 'project'... Faith of a child...

We can never let discouragement get us down... With faith in Him, we must trust Him and believe that He will always mean things for good for us... even when it surely doesn't feel good...

Until next time...
Jean