Mom. Today would be my mom’s 81st birthday. Not quite sure what birthdays are like in heaven, yet I know that heaven is one incredible place. I cannot wait to see what it is like.
My dad passed away in July of this year, and my mom passed away seven years ago this month. Honestly, these past few months have been difficult as it seems that a chapter in my life has closed, and they are missed a great deal by me, my brothers and others. We have been blessed to have great parents.
I would like to spend this day sharing a little about my mom. It was my mom who first formed my faith and shared with me about Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:5 NASB
For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.
I am reminded by the lessons my mom taught me and by her kindness that the freedom God gives is always wrapped the grace and love of God. I want others to know that same grace.
God knows what we need and when we need it. This is week is one of those times. It seems that God has shown up and reminded me of things I learned in the last 50 plus years. He always pointed me to the fact of how blessed we are to have been given the gifts and grace we have received.
Psalm 139:13 NASB
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
What is it that I hold on to most that my parents gave me? Well first I want to acknowledge that God is really the one who gave, but my parents were faithful to God and good to my brothers and I. So, what have I learned.
Love others well.
I watched my parents learn to love and to love well. That truth goes from the time with both mom and dad began to care for their aging parents. That fact is clear from the way they dealt with the challenges we faced when I was young. It even began to be clear when both, mom and dad, were ready to transition from earth to heaven. They loved well.
Don’t hold on to tight.
My parents were givers. I love remembering how my mom to put away a little money and when one of the grandchildren, in particular Steve’s kids, would come by she would have some money to give them. She wanted to bless them and did that to my children as well. Oh the times she would hand me something and smile so pleased to be able to share.
Tell others that you love them.
Those conversations were precious. Maybe you are like me and often think “I want to call mom and tell her about this”. That still happens. Maybe a little less to call mom and a little more to call dad. But those conversations ended. And I miss them. But I remember many of those talks, especially the Sunday afternoon chats on the phone that changed the thousand miles between us in to only a phone line that seemed so close.
I want to wish mom a happy birthday. Would love to do that in person, but I will wait for the day. And I will choose to thank God today for my parents and specifically in the life and love and faith of my sweet mom, Judith Lee Giles Harrison. What an incredible lady that helped to shape who I am, how I love and where I am headed.
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