It Has Been TOO Long!

It has been too long since I have posted. I have been busy and I guess when I do have time to write, I usually give only small sound bites on my facebook status. Anyway it has been tooooooo long.

I could bore you with all the details or I can just move forward from today. I think I'll choose to start with today. Ephraim and I are home getting ready to go to Munster to see my niece (and goddaughter) Lisa in her school play. We will pick Carson up after school and head that way. Though it is a three hour trip, I am more than happy to go! I know that it is what my mother would have done were she still here. I've missed her a lot lately.

It is not only the big things like Lisa's play that make me notice her absence, but it is also the little things like turnips. Yes, I said turnips. A friend shared her turnips with me at Bible Study on Wednesday and I was instantly transported to a simpler time when my mom made sure I had my fruits and vegetables. When I was exposed to so many things from the lowly turnip to the grand kohlrabi. Okay, so I don't recall ever eating kohlrabi. I do certainly remember studying about it and all the many other plants for the 4H horticulture test.

My mother was one for adventure. She wouldn't let us stay stuck in a rut. Always trying new things and exposing us to the arts and culture. She did this by providing dance and music lessons (much to my chagrin). By taking us on trips often with the financial backing of my grandmother and uncle. But she didn't need money to expose us to the greatest thing that shaped us. No the greatest thing was faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I won't tell you that I knew Jesus as my personal Savior at a young age or that I was steadfast in my relationship with Him in my teen and young adult years. No, that came later. The Holy Spirit did His work in my heart on His timeline, but my mother did her part. Making sure I was at church each Sunday. That I went to Sunday School and that I had the privilege of being in a Christian School. She didn't rely on our pastor, or our Sunday School teacher or our teacher at the school to be our only exposure to Jesus. No she did it at home too. Devotions each night usually from the Portals of Prayer, Nightly readings from The Bible until we had read it cover to cover and of course our Bedtime prayers.

She also taught us by example, though we may not have realized it at the time. Her generous spirit in making sure a neighbor had what they needed. Her faithful way of taking not only us but as many kids as we could fit in her big brown Mecury car to free swim at Donner. (I don't like to take my own kids to the pool let alone a whole passel of kids). For all her good points she had her faults. But the great thing is that she knew Jesus as her Savior, so He covered it all with His blood.

It doesn't take much for me to remember my mother or to miss her. My mother loved as much as she was able, gave as much as she had, and provided a lot of opportunities along the way. It has been too long since I last was with her, but I long for the day when I will be with her again in heaven.