A Godly GRAND-MOTHER'S Influence....

A Fitting Memorial to a Godly Christian Grandmother...  from a dear Christian friend who did NOT have a Godly, Christian mother. 

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Today was Mother's Day at our church and our Pastor and Deacon handled it so well, reminding all mothers that they are to be a GOOD EXAMPLE of a CHRISTIAN to their families.

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A few Grandmothers were present and were thanked audibly in the Prayer, Praise, and Testimony time. That was fitting. Because of the mature way they handled it all,  thanks were given but flesh was not lauded.  It was a good way to do this and no hearts were sore and sorrowing... mothers and non-mothers alike.  

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Today,  I remembered my Dad's mother, Ada, who lived in a VERY small country town, right by the railroad tracks. I think this is the first time I have remembered her on Mother's day.  Heretofore, focus was always upon Mom.

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Grandma was an anomaly to me; she was not like ANYONE I knew.  She  died when I was young... maybe 11 or 12... so I didn't know her for a long time.  

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She was SUCH AN EXAMPLE of a Holy Christian.  I remember two things about her:  she never said a derogatory word about anyone... at times , she would close her lips and keep them closed... but that was it. 

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And, she was quiet and did not chatter along.   She was always so glad to see her children come, greeting them at the doorway with her quiet smile and a gladsome light in her eyes.

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Grandchildren kissing grandmother

She would greet us and then bustle into the kitchen --- no matter how short a visit it was to be ---  to put out a vegetable meal with creamed corn, green beans,  peas, mashed potatoes and gravy ... with home-made bread, home-made jam, and applesauce, and sometimes:  Strawberry shortcake !  

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She always had a cake or pie prepared for such occasions.  ( They didn't have a phone until much later in life.)  She didn't serve meat because they were just poor and could not afford to buy it.  They used to butcher their own animals for meat, but by the time I knew them,  their butchering days were over.

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But The LORD, today, would not even let my mind drift towards sorrowing over my own mother... but rather, HE+ moved my mind to consider  GRANDMOTHER. 

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She was not the doting kind of Grandmother to us, but rather was quietly kind to all.  I remember being able to help her wash and dry dishes once; I loved it . It was REAL LIFE. 

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She pumped her water from a well out on the porch, heated water on her stove, and washed the dishes and rinsed them CAREFULLY with a cup of water  over a bowl, before I could wipe them.  The Mennonite ladies in the Old Order Communities remind me of Grandmother, in how they conduct themselves.  She was an old-time Methodist and took her church work very seriously.

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Today, for the first time,  I saw how The LORD used GRANDMOTHER to shape my life. 

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Daddy was not my biological father; mother had been married to an unfaithful young man, my physical father,  and divorced him.  Mom had gone through a lot of distress over her unfaithful husband. 

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But Grandmother was not happy with Daddy's marriage to Mom.  Although she never spoke a word about it, it went against her Christian standards.
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But Mom regarded Grandmother. 

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So, to do right, my Mom started making me say the "Now I lay me down to sleep"  prayer every night, kneeling on my bed. ( I was 4 when this happened, when we moved to a large town  after Daddy married Mom. Before that time, Mom never prayed with me, read the Bible, or attended church. Nobody in Mom's family did.) 

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Then,  my mother taught me --- every night --- to say Psalm 23 and then the LORD'S PRAYER.   I was very little, not even in kindergarten yet. But, Mom did this as long as I could remember while I was in kindergarten.  .

Mom started sending me to a nearby church for Sunday School every Sunday.  I had to walk the few blocks alone.  ( It was a different world back then. )  I remember her dressing me up, doing my pig-tails, and me bringing home Sunday School papers. 
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All THIS WAS BECAUSE of GRANDMOTHER'S INFLUENCE.  Mom thought GRANDMOTHER would approve of this up-bringing.... which I never had before GRANDMOTHER entered my family circle. 
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Oddly enough, when we moved to the farm ( I was six and starting 1st grade ) , Mom quit doing that with me.  I suppose she was too busy with my little brother, who was a toddler, and doing the garden and house work.  She did not say nightly prayers with any of my brothers and sister like she did with me, never.
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But, she continued to send me to a close-by church for Sunday School and eventually church.  Daddy didn't care, one way or the other .... how sad, Grandmother's own son .... but Mom thought that was the way to "be good." 

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Mom later dropped all effort at being a Christian Mom and reverted back to how she was. I think if Dad would have done differently, Mom would have too --- at that point in her life  ----  before becoming so hardened in life, sadly enough.
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But GRANDMOTHER !   I think she never knew what great influence she exerted on me and my Mom, who had had NO  Christian  training or exposure. 

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Isn't that a marvelous testimony to a GODLY woman ? Truly, my friend, the influence of a Christian GRANDMOTHER cannot be over-rated .

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PS... and you already know I am the ONLY ONE in my family who follows JESUS, to this day.

 

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A Letter to Mom....

Dear Mom,

     I never realized until I wrote in your Mother's Day card that motherhood never ceases.

I always thought that once we children were out on our own, that your "job" was done. Maybe it was, as far as cooking and laundry and cleaning goes. But, motherhood didn't cease; it simply shifted gears.

     I cannot envision a time when you might not be there for us. Even fighting through life together as a family, you have been at the heart of it.

      I am glad you are helping Sammy [ a younger brother, aged 45 ] to survive. I think you will have no regrets on your heart for assisting him however you can. What he does with it is not your responsibility nor accountability; it is his.

So, when you give him --- food, funds, truck, or laundry services --- he stands accountable to The LORD for his use ( or abuse ) of what he has been given. You have done your part as a conscientious mother. If Sammy wastes your gifts, do not worry about it. Your part is to give as wisely as possible in order to help.

     The LORD sees it all. HE+ is like a good parent. HE+ gives to each one of us. Our family in particular, and for no reason of our own, has been blessed with health, enough funds, and many creature comforts of this life. We have never lacked daily food, clothing, schooling, nor many fun things in life... not to mention a roof over our heads.

     The LORD has blessed dear Dad with strength over the years to provide plus a conscientious heart to take care of us all. Many, many families do not have a Dad like that.

   The LORD gives and gives. But, what do we do with His+ gifts? Do we do like Sammy often does and squander it all away ? 

     Like a good parent, HE+ fulfills His+ role in leading, guiding, and providing... even through adulthood if we never leave His+ house. It is not His+ responsibility nor accountability what we do with what HE+ has given us: it is solely ours. Remember the Parable of the Talents, Mom ?

    It brings joy to your heart when Sammy turns to thank you sincerely, with tears in his eyes for helping him, doesn't it ? Your heart rejoices when you see him spend his money on good things: his food, heat and electric bills, paying off obligations.

     How sad you are when he uses your funds for self-indulgence! How sad Our LORD is when we do the same !

You would be over-joyed to give our youngest brother even more... if you could be assured that he'd use it profitably, wouldn't you ?  Our LORD is like that, too. HE+ gives us gifts no money can buy when HE+ is assured we will use them profitably. Otherwise, HE+ simply cannot entrust us with very much.

     Just think about this. We have eyes to see: do we use our vision to read His+ Word ? We have ears to hear: do we listen to His+ music, His+ sermons, His+ words every chance we get? Are our minds given over to His+ thoughts ? 

We have communication skills: do we use our voices to glorify Our LORD JESUS throughout our day ? 

HE+ has granted us family: do we tell them of His+ love through our love, through our kind words, through our yielding to each other? HE+ has granted us a home: is it filled with His+ HOLY SPIRIT and thanksgiving --- especially when things vex us --- throughout the day? Are we training our selves as well as our children to handle disappointment with thanksgiving when things do not go our way ?

Indeed, what have each of us done with His+ gifts to us that no money can buy nor replace should our vision, voice, hearing, or mind be gone ? 

What, indeed, have we done with Our LORD JESUS CHRIST each day... this day ? 

     Like thoughtless, untrained, unruly children have we all behaved, thinking His+ gifts were granted because... well, because we are great. HE+ 's the great one ! HE+ gives when we think it is our own prowess that has obtained what we wanted... giving when we "drink it up" and abuse His+ gifts, using them to support our self-indulgent quest for that elusive "happiness." 

     However, that happiness will never be fulfilled that way. Mom, we will never feel good about ourselves until we "feel good" about Our LORD in a very personal way... so personal that we would rather have JESUS than anything this world has to offer. ( Remember that song ?)

When we would rather have JESUS, then we will have that assurance of a berth in Heaven when we fly away. And, fly away we all must, some day. 

So, do not be weary in well-doing, Mom, even though you are not thanked very often for it... even though your well-doing is used to promote Sammy's bad habits instead of his right living.

You are in good company because Our LORD JESUS CHRIST does the same with our family, and indeed, with all mankind. 

A Man+ of Sorrows

and acquainted with grief

and we hid

as it were

our faces from HIM+

and we esteemed HIM+ not. 

No, HE+ is not shown in Scripture to be a laughing man, but a sorrowful one. 

But, there is coming a day when all that is going to change, Mom ! There is hope for tomorrow and wayward sons repent and return home everyday, like the prodigal that they are. Then there will be time for rejoicing with the angels when one lost sheep is found. 

Hold on to HIM+, Mom. HE+ will never let you down! Walk with HIM+ , His+ way.

Love to you, now...

In JESUS, Who+ alone is life, both here and beyond the grave ....   

The Coffee Bubble... ILLUSION... FACT... or, TRUTH ?

Which one do you choose ?

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It makes a difference

in how you live,

how you relate to others,

how you are with CHRIST JESUS.

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Here is a Mother's Day story which illustrates this point.

There once was a little girl, old enough to walk but not quite old enough to talk. She was young enough to need a high-chair when she was at the table.

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Her Dad was gone; her mother worked. She and her mother lived in a chicken house... remodeled into one room, a bath, and a kitchenette. On workdays, the mother would take her little girl up to the "big house" nearby where an elderly woman would watch children for working mothers. They would all sit at breakfast with their Moms, usually toast and coffee.

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One day, the little girl noticed that her little friend was having the best of times at the table, as her friend's Mom would stir her coffee. Looking closely, she saw that her friend and mother were playing a delightful game.

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Her friend's Mom would stir her coffee in just the right way to form a BUBBLE ! Then, she would spoon that BUBBLE into her daughter's mouth... much to their own delight, with much giggling and sweetness.

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Oh, how that little girl wanted her Mom to do the same thing with her! The little girl was sure there was something delightful in the BUBBLE that made her friend and mother laugh and play.

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Finally, after much tapping and gesturing, the little girl let her Mother know what she wanted... a BUBBLE, too! So, the Mother stirred her coffee with vigor, produced the desired BUBBLE, and spooned it up to her daughter with the words: "Is that what you wanted?" And then, the Mom quickly returned to eating her toast and coffee. 

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The little girl was crest-fallen. She didn't understand it. Her BUBBLE was bitter-tasting. There was no laughter, no fun, nothing special about her BUBBLE at all. She never bothered Mother again for another BUBBLE.

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This story is true, I know, because that little girl was me.

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The problem, you see, was the difference between illusion, fact , and truth.

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The illusion was that the BUBBLE was in itself delightful. The fact was that the little friend and her mother were delighting in each other.  The TRUTH was that my Mom loved me too, only she was not able to communicate it via the BUBBLE in the coffee cup, as her mind was on the troubles of the day. 

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Dear ones, fight illusions. Illusions are really fanatasies. They are NOT BASED IN TRUTH. They come from the father of lies. Good ones, bad ones, accusative ones... stand against them all.

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Dear ones, watch out for facts. They may be true ... but they are NOT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER.

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Look only at the TRUTH, through JESUS CHRIST our RISEN LORD. HE+ tells us how to arrange our thoughts, our mind, and our emotions. HE+ tells us through His+ Word to think on things lovely, of good report. HE+ tells us to hold no accusation in our hearts against anyone... not even our enemies.

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Those who hurt your heart are taken in a bad illusion themselves. Pray for them, that they might not be blinded by the enemy and miss CHRIST JESUS their SAVIOR... the only Savior available to mankind.

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And last, but not least, do not covet another person's BUBBLE...  because it is just that: a bubble, an illusion.

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CHOOSE TRUTH+

in JESUS CHRIST

Our RISEN LORD !

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