A Precise God.

"I am filled with joy, when I call to remember the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice...."

2 Timothy 1:4-5

 

Thinking a lot about my grandparents this morning. 

 

(my maternal grandmother at Hannah's wedding, telling her how to love her husband when he's un-loveable. Her advice...ignore a lot!)

 

 

Over the summer I read a book entitled "Moms Raising Sons to Be Men" by Rhonda Stoppe.  This book made a profound impact on how I view motherhood overall, but one of the things that keeps coming back to me from the book is the author's note on how the prayers of our ancestors before us have kept us in God's favor and protection. 

 

While the bible teaches that - I never really thought about it much until I took the time to write down all the things that I have seen God's hand on in my life that could have turned out so poorly had it not been for God's protection, which I truly believe came from the prayers of my grandparents, parents and aunt's and uncles - who thank God stood in the gap for me when I was quite literally "raising hell".  They hit their knees and interceded for me when I didn't have the sense to pray for myself.  And trust me, I gave them PLENTY to pray about.

 

They never stopped praying, and I know one of their prayers had to have been that God would send godly friends into my life.  Let me just say one thing here, I don't care how big and bad your friends think they are - giving lip service and acting too cool - the ones that you end up calling when you're in serious trouble are the ones that you know hit their knees for you, crying out to God on your behalf.

 

There are no atheists in foxholes. 

 

I only need to look at my Facebook page and see how those prayers started taking effect at a very early age - pretty much from the time I started elementary school, God started planting the right people around me, and kept them woven into my life throughout present day.   It was not a coincidence that my closest friends I played Barbies with, or cheered with,  had praying parents. It wasn't a coincidence that at a job where I stayed the longest and loved every minute of it, I was surrounded by people of faith.  It's not a coincidence that it's where I met my current husband.  It's not a coincidence that 16 years later, I start working with the homeless ...and that lay minister who oversees it? He's from that same company. 

 

To quote my pastor, God is an amazingly PRECISE God.  He places people where they are supposed to be, at the right moment.

 

I would even like to think that someone else's mother's prayers put ME in their child's life, to keep that hedge of protection and faith going.

 

Don't stop praying for your children, and yes, even pray for the grandchildren you don't have yet.  A mother's prayers are powerful weapons, and it took me a good 44 years to realize the impact of them on my own life.  Our children need us to stand in the gap for them, and there are children that have no praying parent - stand in the gap and pray for them as well.  Then stand back, and watch God perform a precise miracle.

 

 

A snake in a bedroom, a bully of a momma and one very sick kid

I think that pretty much sums it up.

 We pretty much started off the week on the wrong foot by finding a snake in my son's room.

 You read that right.

An honest to goodness, slithering, snake.

Alive.

 I was on the mad dash to pick the crap up off of his floor and 

the snake was buried in a pile of dirty, stinky t-shirts from football practice. 

I dropped the shirts and the snake and called Vance.

This is where i tell you that i did NOT scream.

Oh no.

Because i have been through this before with this child.

He has some odd fascination with these things and this is now 

the second one i have found in his room.

He says he didn't bring this one in like he did the other one.

I wonder.

I think he likes giving his momma a heart attack.

Right now, all the men in my family swear it must have crawled into one of the shoes we left on the stoop and we carried it in unknowingly.

I went to bed wondering where the snake brothers and sisters were.

Same child had a bout with allergies a few days later.

Or so i thought.

So....being the most.awesome.mom.ever.....

i tell him to buck up.

Stop whining.

Good grief, you act like you're on the only one on the planet who ever had allergies.

When i see you at football practice I don't want to see any wimpering.

You made a commitment, you're GOING to practice.

And....

of course. He spikes a fever of 102 and it turns out he really was sick.

MOM OF THE YEAR I TELL YA.

You know what's ironic is I was just telling someone that His grace

steps in to cover us 

when we need it.

Yea, kind of needing it today

because this Worst Mother Ever shirt is feeling a little snug.