mother – Page 2 – JOURNEY OF THANKFULNESS

We can’t do it alone, we all need help on the journey. Be thankful for the people who help you grow.
(Picture taken at House Of Hope, S. Korea)

Had a revelation today. While having a conversation with my mom. My discovery: parents are self-sacrificing. What’s even more interesting, they do it automatically. My mom is a very giving person. For this reason sometimes she feels taken advantage of. She was feeling a little down today (my mom has gone through a lot in the past several years), as she sat talking about all the people she has helped and all the people she has given to. Her emotions got the better of her when she thought about the fact that when she needed help no one came to her aid. This is her perspective and in some cases it has been skewed by her emotions. In other areas the statement is very true. But here’s the thing about my mom, if any of those people were to come to her now and ask for help, if it was in her power to do so…she’d still help. I realized that my bother and I often take advantage (although most times unwittingly). Why? We have been trained to expect her to do what she has always done. Why? She is mom. Listening to her today I see how much she does. How much see cares, how much she gives without expecting anything in return. Here’s the lesson be grateful and thankful for the people in your life that give to you without expecting anything in return. Don’t take for granted that they will also be around. More importantly GIVE back to them, just because a person always does something, it doesn’t make it their job forever. We are called to bear one another’s burdens. HELP carry each other’s load, it will make the journey more enjoyable.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, NIV).

So what am I thankful for today? My mom :).

That’s my mom!
(let’s keep the fact that I posted this picture just between us…)
-Picture by Lisa R.-

Today is my mom’s birthday. I have been blessed to have a really awesome mom. We have had our moments of misunderstanding and miscommunication. But whether she is praising me or scolding me, she has always been on my side. Today I got to thinking about how lucky my brother and I are that our mom is healthy. Exactly one week from this day the daughter of one of our long time patients had to bury her mom, who had passed away due to mets (short for metastasis…when the cancer has spread to other areas). I know more than anything else in the word she’d would have cherished one more birthday, one more Christmas with her mom. I have been thinking a lot today about how much I take for granted that my mom’s just going to be there (forever). But here’s reality we can’t control life and death (that’s God’s responsibility). But what we can control is what we do with the time we have. We can either spend that time investing in STUFF only to leave it to someone else (you really can’t take it with you). Or we can spend that time investing into the lives of those we love and cherish. So that when we are gone we have left them an example to follow. It’s our choice we can either leave behind stuff, or we can leave behind a legacy.

“Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:16, NLT).

So what am I thankful for today? Opportunity!