Deepest Gratitude
I was glad when they said unto me; Let us go into the house of the Lord.
-Psalm 122:1
Family,
This past Sunday, we talked about gratitude. It’s one of my favorite things to preach/teach about because I am sold out on the importance of recognizing those places in life that deserve our deepest gratitude and those places that we often skim over that at least need a nod or a smile of gratitude.
My mom is turning 83 this Thursday, March 25. It may be just over a month too early to do a blog about moms, but I’m good with it - hope you are too!
My mom is a pillar of strength - sometimes to her own detriment, but a pillar of strength, nonetheless. She has navigated through some very painful experiences in this life and never allowed the pain to define her. It molded her, no doubt, but it never defined her. One way this is exceptionally evident is her joy. My mom smiles and laughs a lot. She laughs at all my jokes, good or bad, funny or not, she laughs.
Here is where my deepest gratitude for my mom comes in. She was an immovable rock when it came to being in church and finding ways to serve Jesus. She has been a Sunday School teacher since before I was alive (so a minimum of 25 years). When I was in high school, if someone had asked me what is the one thing you would change about your mom, there is a high probability that I would have answered; “she should stop waking me up every Sunday morning for church. Please make her stop saying things like; ’If you can stay up late on Saturday, you can get up early on Sunday.’” How does that even make sense?
Fast forward all these years and I find myself feeling deep gratitude for having been raised by a mom who knew the importance of knowing, loving, and serving Jesus. When my teenage self was giving her all sorts of reasons why I shouldn’t be made to go to church, she was rock solid in what she believed and how she lived that out. So many of my fondest memories of childhood and even those whacked-out teenage years of my life are memories around church and church family. The events my mom always knew were some of the most important for my spiritual formation hold those forever places of gratitude in my heart.
So...Happy Birthday, Mom and thank you!
Much love,
Pastor Laurinda