I stared into the blue water of the pool, then down at my flip-flops. I lifted a wary eyebrow towards my brother. His eyes wide, he nodded, encouraging me to take a step.
“You’ll walk on water – just like Jesus,” Jay told me. I had completely dried from our summer dip in the pool and stood wrapped in my faded Kodak towel my mom got for sending off the UPC codes from film boxes. Kneeling down beside the pool, I removed a flip-flop and gently placed it on the water.
To my seven-year-old delight, it floated.
My brother, almost three years older and wiser, stood smug beside me.
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Our pastor gave an illustration a couple weeks ago that made me smile and write some notes on my bulletin. He painted the picture of parents who finally get some time to themselves — a weekend away or just an afternoon date. The first few hours are glorious with great conversation and laughter and then she glances into the backseat of the car to check on them and he takes the Disney CD out of the player and they exchange that look that says, “yeah, we kinda miss them.”
They drive us NUTS, but yet, we do begin to miss them when they’re not around.
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As a mom, I wish I could fix all of the issues my daughter has to face.
The dramas of growing up and fitting in.
Learning to control her emotions and behavior.
Figuring out how to live in this sinful world.
But even if I could solve everything, I know it wouldn’t be what’s best for her because there are lessons to be learned.
What I can do is be there for her.
And sometimes, that’s what she needs most—someone to listen and let her know her feelings are valid.
She wants to be heard. She wants to know I’m there for her no matter what.
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One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from four year old, Billy, who is definitely wise beyond his years.
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.
Don’t you love it?
“Safe in their mouth.”
Don’t you want your name to be safe in someone’s mouth?
Think about it, when your name is safe….
- No secrets are betrayed.
- No rumors are spread.
- No lies are told.
- No cruelty is spoken.
- No anger is screamed.
- No ___________
You’re safe.
I want everyone I love to know their name is safe with me.
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I was walking into the locker room at the gym the other day when a woman passed me, smiled, and said out of the blue,
“You’re pretty.”
I did sort of a double take, thinking she was talking to someone behind me, but there was nobody there.
By the time I realized she was talking to me, she’d turned the corner and disappeared.
There I was, in all my post-workout glory–sweaty, messy pony tail,
very less than pretty–
and yet,
that’s exactly what she said I was.
Those words from a total stranger made me smile (especially because I felt so un-pretty at the moment she said them).
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“Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way.” (Jude vs2 -The Message)
I love that! I stumbled upon that in the beginning of the new year and it is still calling to me today! In the introduction to the book of Jude in The Message Bible, Eugene Peterson writes that when we are sick physically, the pain draws our attention and we do what it takes to get well – but spiritually, we can be sick and unaware for a long time.
In our family, we are normally blessed with good health and a strong immune system, but over the holidays our little household was hit fast and hard with the flu bug.
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Gratitude is the word I’ve chosen for 2013.
My goal is to carefully add one area of life each week until I have added intentional gratitude to every part of my life.
Great idea, right?
Until January started with an attack on my mood and my attitude. I plodded through days marked with sad anniversaries. I was anxious about aches and pains, and well it’s January in the Midwest. Gray and cold. Yuck.
My state of mind definitely did not match my good intentions.
But intentional gratitude is not about my mood or emotions. My circumstances or memories.
Intentional gratitude is:
- Thanking God in all things – not just the good and happy, but also the hard and sad.
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I didn’t really want a dog. 
I’m not a pet person. But something about the floppy ears and the big brown eyes even melted this always-sanitize-after-petting girl. Don’t buy me an “I love my Lab” t-shirt yet, but I will admit I strongly like my dog – most of the time.
My husband recently installed an underground electric fence. Our poor pooch, Comet, gets a little jolt any time she comes near the gates of our wooden fence. That Houdini of a dog has escaped the backyard more times than I can count and once was caught by animal control. So we had to do something to keep her safe.
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