mom to the rescue

I love coming to my children's rescue. There have been frog and snake rescues for Amy along with quick trips to the drugstore for cold medicines and prescriptions, and I have bought a few necessities and medicines for Holly and the girls when there was illness at their house. When I am called upon, my heart races and I am resolute in my mission to supply what my girls and their families need in a pinch. I live for this stuff. It's my job; it's what I do.

I am Mom.

On my way to the hospital this morning to be with Holly and Hannah after surgery, I thought about the freshly brewed iced tea and homemade chicken broth I had in my bag for them. It was something to make the day a tiny bit more palatable while they are away from home. I was asked for the tea and I volunteered the soup. My girls had needs. I was joyful in my efforts to meet them. To do this brings ME joy!

In a more important vein, my own daughter comes to the rescue of her girls. For this season, it's Hannah and her surgery. Holly is right beside her eldest every moment she's allowed, attending to her needs, comforting her when she's fearful and becoming the lioness who advocates for her cub when she needs defending. The cycle: attend, comfort, supply, defend. She's doing it so well. Holly, the mom, to the rescue!

It's what mothers do.

Our heavenly Father is our parent. He calls Himself, our Father! Our parent. If I get this much joy when meeting a request or a need from my girls, how much MORE does our heavenly Father get joy out of meeting OUR desires when we are in need and we ask Him? If I am willing to drop everything and drive across town to deliver tea and soup, and Holly will spend night and day with her child, won't the Lord see our plight and bend down to minister to us, His children? Won't He see me, His daughter, and come to my rescue? My heart is full of gratitude and adoration for the Lord and the way He takes care of me, how He supplies my needs and so many of my wants.

I lack nothing.

Father, thank you for your care for us, your children. Thank you for coming to our rescue! You bless me beyond measure. Thank you for your hand in Hannah's surgery and her continuing recovery. There is no one like you! I must be your favorite for you are better to me than anyone else! My heart brims with gratitude and love for you. "I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand. Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heartbeat. This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, it's overwhelming..."

Suz

clarity

I was planning activities for someone else when I really wasn't "in the mood" to do it so I started to resent every errand or task associated with this activity. This was supposed to be a fun thing. A good thing. But it didn't feel fun OR good. So, I started thinking how I would feel if someone was doing something that was supposed to be a fun time for me with a poor attitude and dread. I didn't like how it felt at all.

Then, in what seemed like out of the clear blue sky, the person said something about how nice it would be for me after all this is over. It seemed sad for her to say it like she did. I thought I was hiding it pretty well but she must have been reading me better than I thought. So I said, "After this is all over we're going to look back and smile about it. This is a fun time and we're going to have fun doing all the stuff that goes along with it." I don't know where that thought came from, except from the Lord, because I hadn't been feeling that way at a all.

That was the turning point for me. As soon as I said it, the light bulb came on. Yes! It is going to be fun and we will have fun doing these things and we WILL look back on these few days fondly, with great memories. And we are! We're having a blast!

I don't know exactly what happened to change my outlook except that the Lord showed me the possibilities. He doesn't ever make us do the right thing. I could have chosen to wallow around in the "I don't WANT to's," and made everyone around me miserable enough that no one would want to be around me. Until a few days ago, I have never seen so clearly that I have a CHOICE about my attitude. I can choose to be grumpy or happy, and for whatever reason, this time I chose the higher road. I made a choice to have fun with this--and I am! We've had fun days of preparation and events and it's been a lot of work, but worth it all.

I make no claims that I have this lovely (read: personally challenging) issue settled forever. Every day, no matter how many birthdays I've had, I see how I am still a student of the Lord, learning how to listen to Him more clearly, learning how to put into practice what I have been hearing, and learning how to set my own feelings aside for the moment and think of someone else. For this test, for this issue, for this time, I think I am really getting it right and I am so grateful to the Lord for it because this outcome is not only affecting me, but others that I love and care for.

Father, what a great time for clarity of thought! I am loving this! Thank you for your guidance and your patience with me. Help me remember that as much as I'd sometimes like it to be, this life is not all about me. Please help me keep my thoughts and attitudes as close to yours as is possible and help me put them into practice as they come up. I think we'll all be happier if I do these things Your way. Help me hear your voice and obey. I love you so much.

Suz

how the Lord shows mercy and is kind.

Tonight I read a new friend's testimony about her life and how the Lord took care of her and her children over the last twenty years and I am immediately humbled AND checked by it. Compared to her life, I've lived on proverbial EASY St. and yet, somehow, I still have the nerve to complain? Through her many challenging years she held on to Exodus 9:16 "But I have raised you up for the very purpose, that I might show my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." She and her children are now reaping the harvest of the Lord's blessing on her steadfastness in Him--and I am truly ecstatic for them.

At the same time, I wonder how, I wonder why some people come out of hardship soaring and others, whose troubles don't seem as dramatic, seem to wallow in it all their lives. Why do some of my family members still sit in the mud? Why am I tangled in the results from what they have sown?

So, I reach for my Bible and look up praise and worship and find Psalm 103...Praise to the Lord of Love.

All that I am, praise the Lord;

everything in me, praise his holy name.
² My whole being, praise the Lord
and do not forget all his kindnesses.
³ He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He saves my life from the grave
and loads me with love and mercy.
⁵ He satisfies me with good things
and makes me young again, like the eagle.

⁶ The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are wronged by others.

⁷ He showed his ways to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord shows mercy and is kind.
He does not become angry quickly, and he has great love.
⁹ He will not always accuse us,
and he will not be angry forever.
¹⁰ He has not punished us as our sins should be punished;
he has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
¹¹ As high as the sky is above the earth,
so great is his love for those who respect him.
¹² He has taken our sins away from us
as far as the east is from west.
¹³ The Lord has mercy on those who respect him,
as a father has mercy on his children.
¹⁴ He knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ Human life is like grass;
we grow like a flower in the field.
¹⁶ After the wind blows, the flower is gone,
and there is no sign of where it was.
¹⁷ But the Lord's love for those who respect him
continues forever and ever,
and his goodness continues to their grandchildren
¹⁸ and to those who keep his agreement
and who remember to obey his orders.
¹⁹ The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything.
²⁰ You who are his angels, praise the Lord.
You are the mighty warriors who do what he says
and who obey his voice.
²¹ You, his armies, praise the Lord;
you are his servants who do what he wants.
²² Everything the Lord has made
should praise him in all the places he rules.
My whole being, praise the Lord.

As I read this whole chapter, I am comforted because His word has spoken to my complaints and my pain. Everything that seemed out of control because I feel overwhelmed is very much secure and safe, so I can move forward instead of hiding away till the storm passes. I'm so glad he "loads me with grace and mercy!"

My Father isn't afraid of my questions and He doesn't chastise me because I am miserable. Verses 13 and 14 says He has mercy on his children and knows I'm dust. I am weak, and He reassures me about His character and His attributes and His attitudes toward me, His child. I have every reason under the sun to look up and praise him with my whole self!

It's still a tough time for me right now, but I have not become a social recluse and, as much as I would like them to, my concerns have not vanished into the air. After reading my friend's testimony and Psalm 103, my resolve is strengthened and my heart is easier because the Lord is in charge of me. I have every reason to praise Him with my whole being!

What a great God we serve!

Father, You know all about my troubles and you are bigger than them all. Thank you for your care. I praise you because you are God! Your love will continue forever and ever and your goodness will continue down to my grandchildren! I love you so much! Thank you. Thank you!

Suz