Some reasons I know my mom ENJOYS me:

       -  I make her laugh.  A lot.

        -  I call her and tell her all about my day.  Every last detail.  Sometimes too much detail.

        -  I make us have “Patio Time” together.  Even in 100+ degree Texas summers, there is just

             something special about sharing sweet iced tea and talking with your mom on a patio.

        -  I challenge her.  We don’t do things the same way but we do learn from one another.

        -  I’m creative.  She says she’s not creative and enjoys that I can be. 

             (Author's Note: I enjoy that she’s practical and can reign in that “creativity” sometimes.)

        -  Hot Tea and Chinese Food.  It's our lunch tradition since I was in kindergarten.

        -  I let her talk.  Sometimes I need a friend, sometimes she does.  We’re learning to be both.

             (Editor’s Note: My mom thinks this point should begin with Sometimes, I let her talk.)

 

Reason why I know my mom LOVES me:

                -  I am hers.

I can name a million reasons why my mom enjoys having me in her life and they are also reasons why she loves me.  But it all originates from a more basic place. When my mom looks at me she says, “She is mine.”   Before I could do any of the things that make her laugh or smile or shake her head or cry… she still loved me.  She loved me when I was just a fuzzy white blob in a black and white picture.  She loved me when my tiny heel kicked her in the ribs month after month until I was born.  She loved me when I spit up and needed diapers changed and was the reason why she hadn’t slept or showered in an inappropriate amount of time.  I wasn’t doing anything to earn her love then.  I wasn’t doing a lot of things that could even be considered particularly enjoyable. 

But she loved me because I was hers.

My mom helped create me.  She went through the pains of bringing me into the world. She went through the challenges of trying to guide and teach me to make the most out of this life.  She showered me with love and affection.  She disciplined and corrected me as she tried to teach me better ways to be.  She has seen me be completely dependent as a child.  She has gone through the rough teen and young adult years when I wanted to be completely independent.  And she has experienced in recent years the two of us settling somewhere in the middle.  I am more capable than ever before but I’m also more aware of how valuable her wisdom, knowledge and love for me truly are. 

After all, I am hers.

Not everyone’s earthly parents feel the same way that my mom did or makes the effort to express it.  But one thing we all have in common is that when God looks at each of us, He says, “You are mine.”  And that is bigger and more important than any acknowledgement or lack thereof, from even the best or worst of earthly parents.  See, my mom would say as much as she loves me and is grateful for the gift of being able to say I'm hers, I am only hers for a short time.

But I am God’s for eternity.   

He created all of us.  He breathed air into our lungs, counted every hair on our head, and determined each of our days.  He has gone through the painstaking journey of teaching and guiding us to come to Him, trust Him, and love Him.   He has seen us when we fall on our knees begging out prayers and when we run as far and fast as we can to try and “do it on our own.”  He has gone so far to leave the perfection of heaven and infiltrate our Earthly existence all to stand before us and proclaim, “YOU ARE MINE!” And He did so with enough truth and love and power to protect us from all evil.  He has even sacrificed and bore the most severe burdens to make up for our mistakes, wash us clean, and give us a hope and purpose beyond our wildest dreams.

Not because of anything we've done.  Not because of the most endearing of our personality traits. 

No, He did it because we are His and he loves us dearly.  He calls you and me, “Mine.”

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

"All that belongs to the Father is mine..." John 16:15

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139: 13-16

Anyone who has ever travelled by plane on a cloudy day knows the indescribable feeling that occurs when the plane ascends past the clouds to reveal the beautiful sunny day happening just beyond our view on the ground.

Sometimes, I wonder if one of the reasons God gave us the miracle of flight was for this very moment.  As if to show us that sometimes, just beyond our earthly view, something beautiful and masterfully created is unfolding.   Life feels a lot like cloudy days sometimes: a little dark, dreary, ominous.  Sometimes life feels like a full on storm or tornado or flood.  Literally or figuratively. Days like this can begin to convince us that the disaster or devastation we see in our lives is all there is; that it’s everywhere from our hearts and homes all the way to the heavens.

But as anyone who has travelled on a plane knows, just beyond the darkness is a glorious light shining brightly as it always does.  See the sun simply doesn’t take breaks.  Whether we see it rise or set or not, it shines consistently on God’s command.  It’s important to remind our hearts, that the Son simply doesn’t take breaks either.   Whether or not we can see the masterful plan of His hands at work, His light is consistently shining into this world.  He is in control of every moment, every situation, every person and their purpose.

Next time the clouds roll into your life and you feel your sight becoming restricted to just what your eyes can see, encourage your heart with the knowledge that believing in what you hope for but cannot see is what faith is all about.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1

“Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” – Hosea 6:3

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”- Psalm 113:3

“Everlasting, Your Light will shine when all else fades…” - “From the Inside Out”, Hill Song United

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It seems women longed to be loved.  The kind of love that is unshakable and unconditional, that is felt in the depths of her being and gives her the confidence to know she has a purpose in this world if for no other reason than because she is loved greatly by someone.

There is a special feeling that comes when someone specifically chooses you, it's a feeling that you matter to someone and something. It's a feeling that you have been carefully selected and must in some way be special to that person's plan.

Then there is a different feeling altogether... the need to be saved. Usually, when a woman dares to feel special, or hopes to be chosen, or prays to be loved, doubt creeps in. Doubt begins to tell her she's not good enough and those familiar questions rise up...Who would want me anyway? I'm not perfect. I'm not even close to perfect. How could someone love me and choose me? Out of all their choices aren't there so many better options? As all that doubt settles in and begins to convince her she'll never be good enough, a funny thing happens: hope also rises up. From the depths of her heart, hope begins to argue against the doubt...I know I'm not good enough on my own but maybe there is someone who wants me anyway! Someone who would be willing to sacrifice themselves and their pursuit of perfection and choose me in spite of all my imperfections! Maybe, just maybe, this savior would love me and choose me, short comings and all.

There is such a deep longing in so many of us to be loved, chosen, and saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 says this:

"Brothers and sisters, whom the Lord LOVES, God CHOSE YOU from the beginning to be SAVED. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth."

God knows our hearts long for such things. He says, over again and over again, in His word that we are LOVED, that He CHOSE us for His plan. Not because anything we have done or because we're perfect, but because He is perfect and our SAVIOR who loves us anyway and have chosen us for a purpose.

God knows our deepest longings and He has made himself the Way to fulfil the desires of our hearts.