I was a hyper little kid. “Talks too much” was scrawled across every elementary school report card and my 2nd grade brownie troop leader once told me she wished she could flush me down the toilet.
But don’t worry. This stuff didn’t damage me for life. In fact, I am laughing out loud as I recount this to you. (But please, don’t ever tell a child you want to flush them down the toilet!!)
With input like this why don’t I have scars the size of Texas all over my self-image? Simple. God and my mom.
My mom wasn’t a big fancy Bible study leader. She wasn’t a high-powered career woman. She was just an ordinary homemaker that loved her kids in an extra-ordinary way. She made us feel important and special and loved, even when the world told us otherwise.
How did she do it? Well, she talked with us a lot. She would sit with a cup of coffee and listen to us ramble on about our day. And she recounted the funniest stories of her childhood and teen years, too. Turns out she was pretty spunky in her day – and still is, for that matter. She talked to us about boys and what makes them tick. She talked to us about friendship and how to handle the catty kind of girl you inevitably meet somewhere along the way. She talked to us about life.
And in our house we laughed- A LOT.
But my mom didn’t learn all this from her mom – although her mom was a good one. When my mom was 15 years old she met Jesus and began her walk with him. Each night, in the quiet darkness of the bedroom she shared with her two younger brothers she prayed, “Dear Lord, when I grow up if you will give me a husband and children I promise I will tell them I love them every single day.”
Years passed and she grew up. She married my dad. Two years later I came along, followed by my sister and brother. God answered her prayers and she kept her promise.
Every single day my mom told me she loved me.
Every
single
day.
So when blinded teachers and cold hearted brownie troop leaders passed through my world, I was equipped to handle them. Sure, their words stung. But they didn’t destroy. When a person is truly loved they have a way of bouncing back.
My mom was the family chain breaker. She experienced first hand the love of God and openly extended that love to those around her – beginning with her husband and children.
Maybe you didn’t grow up with a mom who loved you like this.
But you know what? You have a Father who loves you like this. Ultimately that’s what my mom came to realize. If you don’t know this kind of love, you can. Just ask God to show you His incredible love for you – then look straight into the face of Jesus, because that’s where His love is found.
Then make a promise and keep it – tell those in your family you love them. And do it
every
single
day.
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…..”
