A HUGE God "Mommy Moment"

We all talk about having a God moment, a moment in time when the God of the universe reaches down and touches us personally in some meaningful way, and it reminds us that He loves us, He is in control no matter that the circumstances are screaming otherwise and He does care about the DETAILS of our lives! Oh, how I love that about Him!!!

Last night I went to First Baptist Church-Kings Mountain with Angela, the precious young woman I'm mentoring right now. She was invited there by one of G.A. (Girls in Actions for those who weren't raised Baptist) leaders. The leader is the Mom of one of Angela's dear friends. Since this was an opportunity for a "Real Live Missionary" (aka RLM) to be in their midst, they included all of the G.A. classes to come, ranging from 1st through 6th grade. There were between 25 and 30 girls there.

Angela did a wonderful job sharing with these girls about what it takes to become an RLM: love God with all of your heart so that you can hear Him when He "calls" and then obey, be willing to try new things like living in another culture & learn a new language & finally, pray for those you are being a missionary to because without the Holy Spirit's work in a person's heartt, they cannot be open to receiving Jesus. What a blessing to hear a young woman of 26 share from her heart these Biblical insights, knowing she has already given 2 1/2 years of her life and even plans to go back overseas at some point to do more work.

It was simply amazing to sit there and realize that God would use Angela's testimony as she scattered the seed across those young, fertile hearts! Angela may never know this side of heaven what her specific impact was, but someday in Heaven or on the New Earth, I imagine that a woman or women will come up to her and say, "Hey, do you remember when you came to speak to a group of girls on March11, 2009?....."

All of the above was a big enough blessing, but God chose to pour Himself out on ME in such a profound and personal way that I could scarely take it in as it was happening. I'll explain...

On Tuesday of this week, I had a very hard morning when I was missing Blair & Haley, my 2 daughters who don't live in Charlotte. Blair is overseas serving as a "worker", and I've not seen her since October of 2008, and then, only for a few days. She and her husband James left for the N.A.M.E. region in April of 2008. Blair is expecting their first baby, my first grandbaby which makes it even harder not to have her close. I will not likely see her before October of this year, a full year or more since the last time.

Haley lives in Wilmington NC with her new husband. Although she's not terribly far away, we don't get to see one another except about every 2-3 months. For a Mama who has lived just about her entire married life raising kids, I still have moments when I'd give anything to go back in time when they were younger. I truly loved and love being a Mom!

While driving the car on Tuesday morning to do a "Control Freaks" job with my partner and best friend, I was listening to a Bebo Norman CD, and the song, "A Page is Turned" came on. I was immediately transported in my mind back to 2006 when Blair & I were planning her wedding. We were working on the music and what songs would be sung, etc. She got out her IPOD and we sat on the sofa together, her with one earplug in and me with the other.

I distinctly recall crying as I listened that day to that beautiful ballad, knowing how short my time was with her before her Daddy would walk her down that church aisle. As I listened to the song in the car, you can probably guess what happened......the tears started streaming down my cheeks. I called her on my cell on their Skype number, but didn't get her. So I left a message.

Then I called Haley, who I knew was at work, but I just wanted to hear her voice on her voicemail. And then I left her a message also, letting her know how much I love and miss her too. Thankfully, I had a very busy day planned, and the rest of my day was filled with purpose-filled work. I was so grateful. Nothing like staying busy to distract the mind!

Now, fast forward to Wednesday night at First Baptist Church- Kings Mountain. At about the middle point of Angela sharing with the G.A.s, she anticipated they would probably get antcy, so she had wisely planned for each of them to come up to the front where she would write their name in Arabic on a card that they could keep. They were thrilled!

As the girls began lining up, Julie (the mom who invited Angela) called out several names to remind them it was their turn. I was just sitting there on the back row taking it all in when I heard her call out "Blair". Because Julie has met my Blair and knew she was my daughter, she made a point to tell me, "We have a Blair too." I thought to myself, "That's really neat." And then I thought about how faithful G.A. leaders at the church we were a part of for close to 25 years had probably played a key role in preparing my Blair's heart to do the work He's called her to do alongside of James. Wow. Thanks God. You are so precious to speak to my heart. And thank you so much for those leaders!

That too would have been a big enough blessing, but that's not the end of the story. The girls continued lining up, and since there were quite a few for Angela to do, it took about 10 minutes. And then I heard Julie call out another name....but when she said it, I thought to myself, "Did she just say....surely not! I must be WANTING to hear..." So I whispered for her to come over and asked her, "Julie, what is the name of that little girl in the pink shirt in the row in front of me, the one sitting right NEXT to Blair?" She nonchalantly said, "Haley".

Does ANYONE else out there have "big hair" (my Blair's name for goosebumps, glory bumps, etc) besides me?! Oh glory! Hallelujah! In my house, we call these kinds of moments "Sigmund Hoppers"...(that will have to be for another blog), but suffice it to say this was a gigantic Sigmund Hopper for this gal, and I KNEW that I KNEW that I KNEW that MY God understood how much I was hurting the day before and missing my daughters...my Blair and my Haley. So He lovingly reached that mighty but oh so tender arm of His down to one of His daughters and simply blew her away!!!

P.S. It was the middle of the night where Blair lives, so I couldn't call her, but I did call Haley afterwards to share what had happended. She was so precious to say, "Oh Mommy, guess what color shirt I have on tonight?" Any guesses???!! "PINK!" I say GLORY & PRAISE THE LORD!

The View From Stella's Chair

Tonight I'm sitting in my Mom's chair...the one she sat in alot through the years, but especially so during her last year of life on this earth...because she really had no other choice due to the bone cancer that slowly but surely stole her life away.

I'm in Atlanta visiting with my precious Daddy...the first time "home" since Mom's death. It's been bitter-sweet to be here....bitter because I came home to the house at 5225 Vernon Springs Trail (the home I grew up in from 1965 until I got married in 1981, and the house my parents have lived in since moving to Atlanta in 1965), and SHE was not here to greet me as she had always done before...even if only from sitting in her chair near the back door. Not hearing " Hey darlin' " is another "loss"....one that I hadn't identified until Wednesday upon arriving. (Is it any wonder I use " Darlin' " as a term of endearment with my own children as well as others in my life that are precious to me?!)

I've been busy since being here...spending quality time with Daddy talking and catching up, helping him buy a new dryer, being with my Big Sis who drove in Thursday so she and I could work on sorting Mom's things. But late this afternoon, all the activity finally stopped. And so I sat in her chair and began to look around. This is what I saw:

*her PRAISE THE LORD pillow *
It sits on the sofa directly across the room. It reminds me of Mom's "Praise the Lord" mantra and how I grew up under the tutelage of a mother who didn't just have a positive outlook, but one that gave God credit in all things and during both good and hard times. It also reminds me that she invested in others because the pillow was a gift from Boo, a very dear friend and also a woman Mom mentored.

* the pillow that says "The Lord is my Strength and my Song. Exodus 15:2" *
I actually gave this to her sometime after she was diagnosed with cancer. I told her it was to be her focal point....like when a woman who's about to give birth chooses something to focus on during the pain to keep her mind centered on the purpose. It has a ribbon attached to it, so I hung it at the end of the mantle closest to her on one of the hooks that stays there and is used for stocking at Christmastime. She told me on several occasions how much it had helped her during the really pain-filled days. Jim Wood, a former pastor at her church, had stopped by one Sunday during the summer to encourage Mom and Dad. He's the one who used the childbirth analogy. I've never forgotten those insigthful words and how much Mom was strengthened by them as he reminded her to keep fighting the good fight, running the race and enduring the pain because it indeed had a purpose, just like a mother giving birth to her child. Wow.

* the cross-stitched "JESUS" sign *
It sits on top of the entertainment center. It doesn't "go" with anything as far as decor goes. But quite frankly, my Mom didn't care. I'm not saying she didn't know how to decorate her home well or that she didn't care that her home looked nice. She did, but it wasn't an obsession. She loved her Jesus, and she wasn't ashamed to let everyone who came into her house know that.

* her book stand that holds her Bible and all time favorite devotional, Streams in the Desert *
She sat in her chair every morning for as long as I can remember and spent time with her Jesus, reading His word and talking to Him. The devotional book was a gift from a godly woman she knew in Charlotte. Both her Bible and the devotional are well-worn.

To borrow a phrase from Beth Moore, her "private praise matched her public praise"...meaning, Mom didn't "act" like she was godly....she truly was because of the changes that took place each morning as she allowed God's Word to do its transforming in her heart.