Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. – Jeremiah 1:5
Even before I was born, or even conceived, God had a plan for my life. He knew who he had planned to be my parents and he knew the journey I would take in this life. I have to say I am so thankful that he chose my Mom and Dad to take care of me. He blessed me with some amazing parents. Sometimes I do not show how grateful I am and no words can ever describe my love and appreciation for my parents.
To me Mom’s, especially my mom are a great example of a continuous Christ like figure in our lives. They have to sacrifice their body for 9 months, but the sacrifices do not only stop there, they continue on way longer then that. Us kids were not easy and we kept our parents on their toes. Sports were an important part of our life, and my mom sacrificed every evening of the week to drive all over the city ensuring we all made it to practice on time. Whether she enjoyed it or not, she did it because she loved us and wanted the best for us.
The connection between a mothers love and our heavenly father is amazing. God loves us so much, that he had to sacrifice his own son to save us from our sins. Jesus did not want to be put on that cross, but because of his love for us, he obeyed his fathers commands and died for us. In a way mothers ‘die’, they have to put their dreams on hold in order to encourage their own children. Mom’s give up countless hours of sleep, for midnight feedings and those early mornings. They give up their weekends to sit on cold gym benches, they are our number one cheerleader. They are by our side every step of the way, to catch us when we fall. I don’t believe that this was a mistake, God plans everything out perfectly and if we look for it, we can see connections everywhere.
I am not perfect though, and most times I do not show my mom how grateful I am to have her in my life, or how I would be lost with out her. She shaped me into the person I am today and I couldn’t be more thankful. There are many times though where we disagree, or I don’t want to talk about things, I am a person that likes to keep my feelings inside. This has also showed me though, while I need to have communication with my mom and share things, I have to do the same with God, I have to press into him daily, whether that be through prayer or reading daily devotionals, if my communication is not strong my relationship is going to suffer. While you may not agree with your mom and you may fight and keep things from her, nothing can be kept from God, as he sees everything. I realized in order to have a healthy relationship I need to tell her how much I appreciate her, not just with my words, but my actions, just as Christians need to show the world Jesus’ love by how they live.
My Mom she is a special kind of person, she got married young and had to put her dreams on hold for her children, who she taught to never stop chasing their dreams. She has taught us to believe in ourselves and that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. It is because of her that I am strong willed, with a caring heart and why I chase after my dreams. Every time I look at my mom I realize that she isn’t an interior designer, like she wanted to be, but that is not what is important, her kids are her most prized possession and she knows that her dreams can wait until we no longer have to lean on her.
My biggest struggle with any relationship, is disappointment. I would rather my parents scream and yell at me then have them tell me I disappointed them by doing a certain activity, or see the look of disappointment on their faces. Knowing that I hurt them in such a way hurts me. This reminds me of Jesus, he has such love for us, but as natural born sinners, we aren’t perfect and we disappoint him a lot, but he is always there to catch us when we fall. Even before I was created, he knew where I would fall, he put caring parents there to guide me along, but he has always been there for me. He has a plan for my life, just like all of yours, all it takes is to listen to him and be obedient, sometimes his plans are not what you want and you won’t listen, but he will be waiting for you when you decide to give your whole heart to him. While following him is scary, I am so excited to go on this journey and to share it all with you!
If we look around and take in the moment we are in, rather then zoning out, we will learn to appreciate what we have and realize that we are truly blessed by the best and remember to always chase your dreams, even if it is later then you planned!
Lots of love,
Quinn
