A very happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women out there who have made us what we are today! Remember: if there's anything wrong with us, it's your fault. :-)
Don't all moms thinks this way? We work and pray and cry and beg and teach and plead and care and nurture and scream and try and love with all our hearts 24/7, but if our children choose to act on their own sinful nature, we blame ourselves. The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." This verse is supposed to be an instruction to parents about rearing their children, but it is, unfortuately, used mainly as a guilt-inducing mantra to point fingers whenever our offspring, whether child, teenager, or full-grown adult, chooses to do wrong or chooses to go a different path than the one his parents' critics would have chosen. The fact is we are all our own people; we all know what is right, and we all at some point choose to ignore the right and go for the bad. Moms, don't blame yourselves for your children's choices. None of us are perfect parents, so why should we expect to have perfect children? Our children must choose what to do with their lives for themselves; they must make their own decisions. Children, don't blame Mom or Dad for your choices or failures. You must stand on your own two feet and be the person God wants you to be. Perhaps you didn't have a wonderful childhood; you have the option to have a better adulthood. God knows we are all imperfect vessels, yet He uses us anyway. He has a plan for your life no matter how secure or normal or messed-up we are to start with.
So I say again, "Happy Mother's Day" to all the moms out there. This is not a day to mourn perceived failures; this is a day to celebrate not killing your kids! Enjoy your day. You deserve it!
Last week our whole family was busy with our church's first Youth Explosion. (No, we did not explode any youth.) Bro. Reno Likens started these Youth Explosions about twenty years ago, so he came out to help us with our very first one. On Friday, May 2nd, our teens went out to the public schools and handed out flyers announcing the upcoming event. Then on each day of the event, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they got out of school early to hand out flyers, came back for a quick meal, got on buses to go pick up teens who wanted to come, came back to church for the Youth Explosion from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and then rode the buses again after the service to drop the teens off. Chad was working Monday night but drove a bus Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Katie and Ashley worked each day's event, Katie pushing through a headache that lasted from Sunday night through Thursday. Dale got to attend each service; Emily and I worked in the nursery Monday and Tuesday nights and attended service Wednesday night. We had well over 300 brand-new teenagers attend the Youth Explosion over the three nights and 117 people accepted Christ as their Saviour! What a privilege to be a part of these newly born Christians' lives! Our teens got to be involved in something special that will impact their personal walks with God. We were all exhausted but happy. Praise the Lord for souls saved and teens introduced to church and lives affected.
Only a few short weeks of school left before we're done! Seniors are getting sooo excited to be going on their Senior Trip and then graduating soon. Juniors (like Katie) are beginning to freak out, knowing they will soon be Seniors and must account for their academic life thus far. Everyone else is glad to move up a grade. Elementary students are just looking forward to summer break. Teachers are trying to cram in the last bit of curriculum they can before final exams must be taken......and graded.......and averaged......and computed. There are always some students and parents who are biting their nails, waiting for grades to be announced so they can either slump in depression or sigh with relief. Some teachers are already looking ahead to next year, planning classroom layouts and papers and preparing their lesson plans. Others will be glad just to close the books on this year's class! All in all, we've had a good year and are looking forward to some genuine time off.
For those who are wondering, I'm not skipping church. No, this Mother's Day I am home sick with a nasty cold. Someone (either husband or student or friend or choir partner) gave it to me, and I'm not complimenting them on their sharing ability. Emily is home sick with the same cold; she was running a low-grade fever last night along with the coughing and sneezing and runny nose. Dale is home with us because I didn't wake up in time to wake him up to get ready to go with his Dad! We may make it to service tonight......and then again, we may not. Depends on if my head has exploded by then.
Again, Happy Mother's Day to all!
II Timothy 1: 5 "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
