I have been raised with this ideology – if you love someone, then you tell them the truth no matter how much it hurts. The truth wins out over emotions in the long run. And, I’ve done a really good job dishing out the “truth” over the years - sometimes with the needed compassion and sometimes not, but I'm growing. Sure, there have been times when Iwould much rather not be the messenger, but I’ve forged ahead in the confidence of knowing that the truth was the best medicine.

Now, I find myself in a rather interesting predicament. It’s not an issue of if to tell the truth to this person, it’s a matter of when. Right now, said person is highly sensitive. Any challenges to this person’s viewpoint are shut down. This has never bothered me before – I just went right on ahead and gave them some knowledge. But, now I’m stuck. Ironically, because of my love for this person, I don’t want to see them hurt and I’m desparately trying to find an appropriate time to share this truth that the Lord has laid on my heart. When should this truth be revealed? Timing is everything now. Nevertheless, this truth will assuredly be shared, even if not received.
So, I’m committed to making this a matter of prayer. I've got the truth wrapped in the words. Now I just need to know God's timing on this. I'm on my knees with this.

Lord, please give me the strength to carry out your assignment. Please give me the confidence to march forward and share this truth that may hurt now but will prove redemptive later. Help me to be like a gardener, pruning a plant, only interested in future growth. And, please God, may the one that I need to share this knowlede with, receive it in the realization that I am not trying to hurt, but instead to help. This is my prayer in the name of your Son Jesus…Amen.

Fellow bloggy friends, will you pray with me too? I appreciate it and I appreciate you.

I sat on the cushy pew wondering how the pastor might pull a good mother’s day message from this passage. One mother killed her own baby by accident and the other mother had her baby taken away - stolen. It was as if I was watching a movie unfold as he told his rendition of the passage and added bits of color here and there to help us to understand exactly what was going on. I was enthralled with the ending message. It was this:

Motherhood is a spirit.

Some people will tell you that in order to be a mother, you must have given birth to a child. And while that is a common secular definition of motherhood, it is not in the spirit of motherhood. For even if we go back to earlier communities, familiar phrases such as this one pierce our ears: “It takes a village to raise a child.” Motherhood then is not something done in a vacuum. It’s not a single act performed by a single person every single day. But true motherhood is a spirit and a gifting. Can I get an amen from the foster and adoptive parents?!

It is not the birthing process that makes one a mother. But instead, it’s the responses that follow. Many elderly women, whose feet that I’ve had the opportunity to sit at tell me this, “getting the baby here is the easy part.” (They must have been excluding labor – I’ve seen videos and getting the baby here looks anything but easy – but I also understand what they were saying.) That’s the single part – one person can do that. Everything beyond the birth should involve community.

What then do we make of some mothers who, upon striking out on this adventure, refuse to heed wise counsel? Those who would reject community? What then can we say to those who have been given godly wisdom to impart?

We realize this: those who refuse wise counsel, ARE within their rights to refuse the counsel. My mother always said “a hard head makes a soft behind.” Life will whip them into the knowledge of the wisdom that you were trying to impart. Nevertheless, these mother’s have the right to choose their own path. Just like you have the right to choose your own path.

However, those who have been given wise counsel to share ARE NOT excused from sharing the counsel. No matter how uncomfortable it is to say to that mother, you must remember that you are a messenger. Your job is not to comfort the mother nor appease her, but instead to give her the message. So, give the message, and move on. Often times, the mother’s refusal is not personal, so don’t take it that way. If you have been given godly wisdom and the permission to share it, then by all means, share it. If the mother refuses your wisdom, she will answer to God for that. Just like the offer of salvation, all you have to do is to tell the good news, the choice to receive the good news is up to the sinner. In this example, just share the advice that was laid on your heart.

And to the pastor's point, you are not disqualified from giving advice to mothers if you do not have children. Motherhood is a spirit. And, like in the passage the pastor preached, simply put, some mothers simply have more sense than others. Some mothers are better equipped than others. And, some women have been given the spirit of Motherhood and make for excellent mothers to children who have never shared their womb. Let me repeat - community is essential.

So, don’t be dismayed and don’t be discouraged if you share some information with a mother who doesn’t think you know what you’re talking about. She may just not know herself or she may be in a position where she just refuses to receive it from you for whatever reason. You do what God leads you to do and everything else will take care of itself. Now, that is a guarantee.

Mother by secular definition - walk in your motherhood spirit.

Mother without evidence from the womb - walk in your motherhood spirit.

It's a partnership. It's about community. And, it's all good.

God Bless You!

I've got a new little friend.

Well, he's not really all that new. And, well, he's a little more than a friend. He's family. And, well, to be honest, he's not all that little either. He's tall for his age, but still adorable.

Anyway, I've been hanging out with my new little friend this week and we've become buddies. I don't know why it is this way, but I seem to make friends with kids quicker than adults. Oh well. This little friend will follow me into the room where I'm staying at his house and play on the bed. Well, it's technically more of a wallow. Anyway, he's hanging out on the bed having himself as good time, babbling and laughing. And, sometimes I will tickle him and other times I will do whatever it is that I planned to do while in the room.

When I leave the room, my little friend will turn out the light and I'll close the door. We play on the floor. We run around his house. And, we have a blast with each other. The newness with each other is now gone. We are buddies - familiar. So much so that when I was laying on the couch, he came up to me, crawled on me and began wallowing on me. I know I gained weight but I didn't think I looked wide like furniture. But alas, my little friend wallowed on me anyway. He rolled left and he rolled right and then it happened. He spun around and put his little diapered behind in my face!

What! I couldn't help but laugh - which made him laugh more.

I don't know what it is with me and kids but I thank God that they feel comfortable enough around me to treat me like furniture!

Ya gotta love it!

Have a good weekend!