As I write this I’m fighting tears because the reality of what I’m about to share is tough. A big part of what I teach and minister on is identity. Well what happens when a person you love takes on an identity that you can’t connect with? You have to grow. You have to allow your faith to grow.
Welcome back to Live Full Die Empty, where we believe in filling our cups with hope, not just coffee!
You’re probably wondering who I’m talking about and what’s going on so I’ll tell you. It’s my mom. The lady that introduced me to Jesus is slowly turning on me and I don’t like it. This isn’t something that I planned on sharing like this, but as most of you know, what’s personal to me often becomes the lesson because God has called me to live inside out. So here we are.
Quote:
“I know a man named Jesus!”
This week’s quote is one of mom’s famous lines. She’s always been charismatic, comical and boisterous, but she has always had a love for the Lord. Long before she was called to pastor she was what we would call a street evangelist. On the corner, on the bus and in the store she wanted to introduce everybody to “a man named Jesus”. Her mission was to make sure as many people as possible got saved. Now her life is starting to be overcast by clouds of dementia.
Frustration due to misplaced money, misplaced keys, and even a misplaced remote can lead to some tense conversations. Realizing that pretty soon we’re going to have to confiscate the car keys is a shuddering thought. Yet, my hope is in Jesus, the only reliable man mom ever brought into my life. This man didn’t argue with her or mistreat her. He gave her a hope and a future long ago. He knew she would travel this particular path and that I would be along for the ride. He stamped her as His and never came in between us. He gave us some common ground and a spiritual DNA that allows me to love on, serve, and pray for my sister in Christ who just so happens to be my mom.
In fact, this has pushed me right into the arms of the Savior because only He can shine light on a gloomy situation like this. His joy on the inside of me makes me laugh at her smuggling disinfectant spray in her purse or using way too much hand sanitizer. I can take a deep breath and stay in peace when I see she has once again scattered coffee grounds and prescription pills all over the counters and floor. I remain hopeful that the Lord will sustain me on this journey. Life comes at you fast and when you come to a milestone moment such as this you have to lean on the firm foundation. The Word of God is the only rock that I can stand on. Nothing else can hold this weight other than my Lord, my refuge, my stronghold.
My Gratitude Point for the week is I don’t have to navigate these storms of life alone. Of course God is with me and He also blessed me with humans to help along the way. I’m grateful that I have a husband to vent to and strategize with. He also blessed me with a Spiritual Father to get wisdom and insight from. I am overwhelmed by God’s goodness to me in in the form of these two men.
Though the woman is changing, though the connection is strained, though the responsibility is taxing, the eternal is unmoved. Who my mom is to God and what she has been to the Kingdom remains the same. And when we’re all caught up to meet Him she won’t be left behind. The seeds she sowed have produced a harvest. She nor I see her the same, but thankfully our outlook doesn’t determine God’s view. She is still His beloved daughter who wants everybody to meet Him.
This week take a moment to check in on an elder. Give them a call or take them a sweet treat. They will be so glad you did, even if in a few days they forget it ever happened.
Peace be unto you Friend.
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