Lord, I thank You for my wonderful children! I had a chat with my 11-year old (Briana) recently and asked her a question. "Briana, you've witnessed Mommy make a lot of mistakes since you've been here. What has been the greatest lesson you've learned from them?" With raised eyebrows, a nonchalant expression on her face and a shrug of her shoulders, she says to me, "I've learned to keep on going on".
Remember the post entitled "Are You A Living Contradiction?" In it I said, "...Each morning remind yourself that every tomorrow places you further and further away from your yesterday." Briana's response to me (although short) blessed my life because it was laced with the hope of tomorrow.
To her, the resolve is simple...just keep moving because tomorrow has to be better.
While I'd like to take credit for making life look easy, my children have seen me cry, yell, shut down, and yes, pray. But what I love about this is that Briana paid most attention to the fact that God caused me to get up and go every day. All the while, I'm striving to be an example to her (in my unsuccessful attempts at hiding my hurts) and it turns out that my baby girl has been the greatest example to me.
Children thrive on promise...they don't dwell on pain. I said to my girls about three or four years ago, "Ladies, you are going to see Mommy make some mistakes, but I promise you that you will also see me correct them". I had no idea of the magnitude of that statement back then, but I'm so glad that Briana never dwelt on the moments when it seemed as if we were losing because she remembered my promise to her.
Now here's what's great about that...God never makes a mistake! And when God makes promises He is very clear on what the outcome will be. We just have to be smart enough (like my 5th grader) to cling to the voice of His promise. The test...can you pass it?
There is a saying "you never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have." To be honest I used to hate being strong because in my opinion crying was just easier; and although it is okay to cry being sad 24/7 doesn't make any situation better after "going through" so many times I realized that the reason being strong was so hard for me was because I was depending on myself instead of God.
ReplyDeleteOnce you have faith "Troubles" no longer affect you, Its easier to smile when your bank account is negative...or still laugh although things aren't working out in your favor.
GOD is the cheat code to pass any test. Once you have him, you'll have all the answers :)
That's my baby! I know you gave birth to her, but her love and smiles inspire. And wisdom with in her years are totally God sent.
ReplyDelete"...just keep moving because tomorrow has to be better." Love it. I believe that the whole goal of this blog and book is to show the world this very thing in Jesus name.