Its Mama…..H is for Heart

It’s Mama……H is for Heart

Children,

One of my favorite sayings is “I love you with my whole heart”. I have written that mostly to my Mama and Daddy as I always used ILYAOYMC to you children.

But, on occasion, I may have penned those words to you.

My prayer for each of you is that you embrace every day you have on this earth with your complete core…

But, especially that you love deeply, tenderly, and passionately with

Your
Whole
Heart

There is a cost for doing so….as it is very likely that you will eventually, at some point, get hurt, often deeply for taking such a noble stand on love
It means you will risk it all, or “risk the biscuit” as Johnson used to say…

But, at almost 59 years of age, I am learning that anything less than giving your best to your spouse, your children, your friends, your pets, and your career leaves a soul empty

For what “could have been”, what “should have been”

And, for what never was because you chose less than…

Another favorite quote is
“Who so loves believes the impossible”

and it is my hope that I have instilled that to some degree in each of you…for, it is in the loving of someone that the impossible can occur. First, your love of God, unseen and unheard on this earth can draw you closer to the richness of life that you may feel eludes you if He is absent.

I genuinely believe that we are called to holiness that only love can provide and that the purest form of love cannot occur without the presence of God in our life…

Consider, have you ever had a season where you felt lost or wandering with no clear path to go? Have you ever had a frightening life situation happen and someone pointed you in the direction of praying for God to help you through it?

God is the most fundamental embodiment of love that you will ever see or know in your life and it is my mother’s prayer that you find Him in your daily living so that you always have bearing to your decisions, thoughts, and plans for your life…

Next, is the love you have for your spouse. It is my prayer that each of you, if it is God’s will, find that one person who you commit and choose to love for all the rest of the days of your life. I promise you, it will most certainly be a choice and one which you make over and over and over again each and every day of your marriage. During the good seasons, fill up your marriage with commonality, communication, physical appreciation, but most especially love for one another because the hard times will come and when they do, love will sometimes feel absent. That is why you need the heart of your marriage to be strong so when the love is not felt, the heart keeps beating until you right yourselves with one another.

Then, your children, if you are so blessed will bring a totally different but just as deep type of love. Remember always, that your love for your children should be unconditional as is the example God set for us. When children have the foundation of unconditional love, they will likely always find their way back to rightness and wholeness. Be that parent who loves your children “as only their Mama or Daddy” can.

Your parents need your love more than you will ever know until you become parents. There is a sacred spot in the heart of a Mama or Dad (or stepdad) that can only be filled with the love of their child(ren). You three children (and really five) are the greatest blessings in my life outside my faith. Raising you was a gift from God for which I am eternally grateful and it you who make me want to be the best and most worthy Mama I can be. My prayer is that I have been what you have needed as a Mama and that I leave a legacy of love for you to follow when I am no longer here. I call my own parents every single day just to hear their voice and listen to their words of wisdom and love and it hones and polishes me into the heart that you deserve.

Family is important. You can have all the friend in the world, “framily” we call them in this day and age, but I agree with Grammy, “you can have all the friends in the world but if you don’t have a good relationship with your God given siblings and family, then you have failed one of the most significant missions God has given you in life. Just as marriage to your spouse is your worldly example of the church being the bride of Christ, so is your relationship with your siblings your worldly example of what God calls us to be within the framework of his holiness. Always keep close to heart your siblings. You three – Madison, Kenton, and Johnson- are all you will have some day that truly links you to your Mama. Keep that bond close and it will make all the difference in the world. Then, add to your bond, Jacob and Lindsay, and you will have a fiercesome family come good times and bad. God put even them in your life for a reason. And, stay close to your nieces (and future nieces/nephews to come) for one day, they will need each other.

When I married Ian, he said to me that he always treated his job as a means to make a living for his family and not vice versa. I think he has role-modeled that philosophy very well. He has worked very hard to provide for basically two families the whole time we have been married, never complaining, and always loving us well and fully. He has earned a good reputation for his work and has helped many, many people through the years. The fact that he did not retire like he would have so he could provide for me and you is his gift of love to all of us. I know he grows tired…and, I pray he may retire some day soon, but I am forever grateful that while we will never be rich in the worldly sense, we have been rich under the protection, direction, and depth of his love. Work hard while you are young to make your way in your career, but don’t let it come before your family or they may not be there to share it with you.

As each of you know, my very favorite scripture in the Bible is I Corinthians 13…I hold this chapter close to my heart and have been forever changed by its holiness and direction…

I share it here again with you….in your own handwriting…your gift to me for my birthday….