Today is a special day for me. This day one year ago...I had just gotten home from Wednesday night supper at EBC and was preparing to pack my suitcase for Chicago. The Beloved Beauties were heading to see Beth Moore LIVE! Agghhhh....I wanna go back! One day I will be able to tell Beth Moore that my dream came true...that I did get to meet her and I was pregnant! Ha! I suppose God was prophesying to me last July when I had that dream..but that's another story for another day. Anyway, it was that night that two pink lines changed my world for the better. It was that night that God began to fulfill my life long dream of becoming a mommy.
Before that night one year ago, I would compare myself to others by how well I did in my job or by the clothes I was wearing or the car I was driving. Now, just a year later, I compare myself to other mommies...am I spending enough quality time with my girl? am I training her up according to Proverbs 22:6? am I reading enough to her? holding her too much? spoiling her? not spoiling her? am I as good a mommy as such and such? You get the picture. I'm sure some of you can relate.
Anyway, last night after we got home from church, life was like any other night. Except...God had a message for me in our nightly routine. Tory was still at the Youth House. So, I began the nightly process of getting Harper ready for bed, straightening the house, washing bottles, washing clothes...you know, the monotony of mommy night-life. True to every night, I changed Harper into her jammies and we picked a book to read after she finished her bottle. First, we picked "Pat the Bunny", but she was not impressed as I pulled it from the basket. Next, my hands fell on a book at the back of the basket that we have not read before..."The Oak Within the Acorn" by Max Lucado.
Here's the premise of the book:
Little Acorn wasn't sure what his purpose was and he didn't want to leave the security of his mommy, Big Oak. He did leave and then became Little Oak, which turned into Big Oak. Still unsure of his purpose because he couldn't grow oranges like Orange Tree or flowers like Pink Petunia or Rosie Rose, he was discouraged. It wasn't until Little Girl needed Big Oak's branches for her swing and tree house that he discovered that what his mommy told him was true..."Within you is a great oak, Little Acorn. Just be the tree that God made you to be."
It was hard to read the book through the tears. But God had a message for my heart last night...just be the mommy that I created you to be.
As Harper gets older, this book will become part of our regular routine. I want her to grow up in the confidence to be the individual that God created. I want her to know that she was created with a purpose...God's purpose.
After I put Harper to bed, I went back to read the forward by Max Lucado. Here is what he wrote:
Dear Parent,
God prewired your infant. He scripted your toddler's strengths. He set your teen on a trajectory. God gave you an eighteen-year research project. Ask yourself, your spouse, and your friends: What sets this child apart? Childhood tendencies forecast adult abilities. Read them. Discern them. Affirm them. Cheerlead them. You've been given a book with no title--read it! A CD with no cover--listen to it! An island with no owner--explore it! Resist the urge to label before you study. Attend carefully to the unique childhood of your child. Uncommon are the parents who attempt to learn these God-given abilities--and blessed are their children.
Blessings,
Max Lucado
May I be uncommon. May I discover my daughter's talents and abilities and encourage her to use them for God's purpose in her life. May I not let my plans and dreams become her plans and dreams. May she know and believe that she is fearfully and wonderfully made...just the way she is! May we all discover the great oak within us and just be the tree God intended for us to be.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
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