May I share something with you? I’m having one of those days months where no matter how hard I try, I don’t feel like I measure up.
We live in an age where I can compare myself to thousands of other women doing the same job I’m doing. I can read their blogs or spend time on Pinterest and catch glimpses of all the things they’re doing that I’m not. And never could.
I’ve never baked a flawlessly decorated cake for my son. I don’t sew or create magnificent scrapbook pages. The messiness of a sandbox gets the better of me sometimes and the thought of mud puddles or keeping any type of bug as a pet sends me into the fetal position.
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“Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger.” James 1:19-20 (The Message)
I have looked at these verses for the past 11 years mainly as parenting verses. Verses to team up with the wisdom of Proverbs 31:26, telling me to open my mouth with wisdom and to have the law of kindness on my tongue. You know, instead of having a tongue that attacks with the lethal skills of Chuck Norris, enforcing the law of “I’m the mommy and I said so!”
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This month I was able to visit a family who lives in Guyana, South America. We stayed in their home, ate meals together, walked home in the rain after visiting other friends, and spent many hours in their boat on the river. I watched them give hearty handshakes, exchange smiles, hold little scared hands. I watched them give rides, give encouragement, and give hope.
I watched them love.
You see — they’ve been living in a remote part of Guyana for almost five years now, ministering to the needs of the people in areas only reachable by small plane or boat.
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I’ve been working my way through Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting On God, by John Snyder, over at Counting My Blessings this summer.
I believe that finding this book was a God appointment in my life. You see, I’ve been praying about something for a VERY long time. God has blessed me with peace and patience most of the time, but occasionally when longing sets in and my heart hurts . . . well, I’ll bet you can relate.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is:
Prayer is not like rubbing a magic lamp to get our wishes granted.
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I’d waited weeks for this moment: toes in the sand, waves crashing in the distance, sun warming my soul. I watched as my two-year-old made happy piles of sand in front of me, experiencing the beach for the first time.
Then from beside me I heard a sigh and a mutter. “It’s not fair. I wasted my money.”
My ten-year-old son pouted and kicked his body board further from him. From the outside it looked fine, blue cloth stretched over the foam core displaying South Carolina’s traditional palmetto tree and crescent. But beneath the covering, the board was broken in two.
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Today, as many women spend time honoring and loving on their daddy’s, I wanted to take some time to remind you of how much your Father in heaven delights in you! I don’t know what kind of earthly father you have. Or perhaps this day brings pain because your daddy has left this earth. And for some, your earthly father was not the kind and compassionate man that he should have been.
No matter what type of emotions this day beings for you, I want you to know that you have a perfect and loving Heavenly Father who thinks the world of you.
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How do you hope to be remembered someday? Whether it’s your children, family, co-workers, or the person you met one time, what would you like them to remember about you?
I know I’ll be remembered differently depending on how close that person was to me. For example, my daughter and I have always spent a lot of time baking together. She will remember me in personal ways from our time together that a co-worker would not know about me. At the same time, a co-worker might remember me from working on team projects, which is a side of me my daughter has not seen.
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How would you characterize the best day of your life so far? Perhaps it’s the day you graduated from high school, or moved away to attend college and live life on your own. I am sure the day you married or had children are some of your best days yet. How about the day you met Jesus and realized your need of Him?
But what about yesterday, today or tomorrow? Was today a good day for you? Do you want to let go of yesterday, and are you somewhat hesitant about embracing all that tomorrow has for you?
What if I told you that TODAY is your best day?
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