Pleading in Prayer

I want to wish my dad a Happy Father’s Day.

I was born a “daddy’s girl”.  I have always adored my father (although when I was in trouble I may have faltered a bit – we won’t say how often that happened).

I heard a song when I was young called “I Want to Marry Daddy When I Grow Up”.  I believe if God has marriage for my life, then my husband will be a man similar to my dad.  A man of integrity, who seeks to put God first and share that with others.  My dad took me on my first date – when I was 8 years old.  He taught me how I should be treated.  Let’s just say I have very high standards.

I shared in a previous post how my dad taught me to love thunderstorms.  Another special memory is when I was 14.  The memory of the day I trusted Christ as my personal Savior was fading.  I had doubts about my salvation.  Youth leaders and Christian school teachers often taught that we should “make sure” we were saved.  I felt I needed to pray to ask Jesus to save me from my sins.  I knew I had to tell someone, so one night I told my dad.  Instead of having me “make sure” he started telling me why he thought I was truly a Christian.  I’m pretty sure I thought he was crazy (I’ve said this before).  I had it so ingrained in my head that I needed to “make sure” that I didn’t think there was any other option.  However, in godly wisdom, my dad listed evidence of salvation and shared Romans 10:9-10 with me.  I realized that this was true in my life (due to the ministry of the Holy Spirit).  I have at times struggled with doubt since that day, however, God used my dad to give me assurance based on Bible teaching.

So on Father’s Day this year, I want to publicly say, “Thank you , Dad.  I love you.  Happy Father’s Day.”

God works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).  That doesn’t mean everything is good.

But God is good.  Always good.

I want to wish my mom a Happy Mother’s Day.  As with many, my mom has been important in my life.  She took care of me, nurturing me as I grew up.

My mom married a pastor.  An honorable profession, but one that can be difficult.  She gave birth to three wonderful, little sinners (although I’m sure my brothers caused more trouble than I did).  🙂  Caring for a family of 5 on a limited budget was a burden she bore.  She fought to meet our needs and often went without.  She worked hard to make special occasions like birthdays and graduations extra special.

My mom trusted Jesus Christ as her Savior at a young age and has shared that with others including her children.  I remember one time my mom prayed with me after breakfast that I would learn to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  I didn’t trust Christ that day, but the memory has stayed with me.

So on Mother’s Day this year, I want to publicly say, “Thank you, Mom.  I love you.  Happy Mother’s Day.”

This frame is just like me, full of pits, flaws, and just plain messy.  It is also a work in progress.

I bought this frame with nail holes, because it reminds me of the scars we get through life.  This is a reminder to me about how messy life (and people) can be.

I didn’t want to leave all of the holes – I wanted to fill them in.  This is my reminder that healing does take place, but sometimes there are scars.

My attempt to fill the holes did not go well.  The frame looks messier than before.   I decided this would be a work in progress.  I have been thinking through what I can do to make the frame look nice.  I’m not sure if that is possible, but I’m going to try.

I like visual representations of life lessons.  We all live through difficult times that wound our spirits.  Those experiences change us for the rest of our lives.  We may feel as though we will never be whole again.  However, for the Christian, God uses each life situation to make us more like Jesus Christ.  There is no better goal in life than to become like Christ.

So this frame is a reminder to me that while I am messy and have flaws, God is still working on me to produce a beautiful image.  His.