She Calls Me Mamaw!

In May, I wrote a blog post about the fact that my granddaughter, Bella, had a name for everyone in the family except me.  I was that nameless, nice lady who she loved, but could not name. In the last few months, I have finally been christened with the moniker of Mamaw.

Growing up, I don't remember any of my friends having a Mamaw. Some called their grandmother names like Granny, or Grandma, or Grandmother or even Mimi, but Mamaw was not a name I heard.  It seems to be more of a southern name and as my husband is fond of reminding me, even though I'm a West Virginian by birth, I just barely lived south of the Mason-Dixon line. I made it by only about twelve miles.  In his mind, I'm not really southern at all.  In fact, he calls me a "Wetzelvanian" since I lived in Wetzel County, WV, not too far from the Pennsylvania state line.

A "Mamaw" in my mind is a plump, farm wife with a flowered dress and a white apron.  I think I have the plump part down, but the rest doesn't sound like me.  However, "Mamaw" goes perfectly with "Papaw" and since that's my husband, I guess we make a perfect pair.

What's the spiritual significance of this little story? I guess there isn't much on the surface.  I think I just wanted to write to share with the readers who have been following our story that not only do I have a beautiful, smart, sweet blessing of a granddaughter, but she asks for me by name now. What a miracle she is!  All grandmothers think that about their grandchildren, but the fact that she is in my life at all is a miracle.

The struggle and heartbreak of a fertility issue for my son and his wife caused the joy of this particular little girl to be in our lives.  The circumstances of her birth mother's life that could have led to tragic results have unfolded to give her a wonderful life with us where she is whole, happy and normal (or as normal as she can be surrounded by our crazy family!) It's one of those "what the enemy meant for evil, God is using for good" kind of things.

I am just overwhelmingly grateful to God for Bella's life and I am so excited to see how He will continue to grow Josh and Brittney's little family.  Things do not always work out the way that we think we would orchestrate them, but God's plan is always perfect.  So, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go look for a flowered dress and an apron.  I've got a grandbaby to love on!

In His Time

My son and his wife are trying to sell their house, so they planted a few fruits and vegetables at our house this summer so they wouldn't have to abandon the harvest if their house was purchased before it was time to enjoy all the produce. The watermelon vines, in particular, have rather taken over a section of the backyard. They started as a few small plants nestled up next to the foundation of the house, but their spreading vines are trailing far across the lawn.

About a week ago, one of them looked ready to eat.  It was large and had that nice yellow spot on the bottom that is supposed to indicate that it's ready. When we cut into it, it looked good and each of our two families had a large chunk to enjoy.  Yesterday, in anticipation of a picnic lunch we had planned for a day trip, we thought we'd slice up some more to add to the cooler. My son found one that looked just like the other had looked when we'd served it up.  However, when I pulled my large knife across the rind of this one and sliced down to the cutting board, all I saw was a disappointing pale pink color all the way down to the rind.  That watermelon got tossed into the woods for the wildlife to enjoy if they can.

To our eyes, it looked as if the second melon was ready to serve out its purpose.  It looked right on the outside, the time it had been growing indicated that it should be ready, our experience had been that a melon of that size and appearance should be good to eat - so what happened?  It just wasn't time.

I attended a women's conference this past weekend where the speaker said something much the same.  She said that sometimes when we are believing God for breakthrough and miracles in our lives, we just have to wait for God's timing. She said that God's delay is not necessarily God's denial and that He might be waiting for the perfect timing to bring the greatest glory to Himself.

I can remember experiences in my own life where had I been given exactly what I wanted at the time that I thought I needed it, it actually would have been damaging to my situation.  God knew the big picture and His timing was perfect.  There are situations right now in my life that I think I see clearly.  I know what needs to happen and I can't imagine why or how a delay in getting that answer could be positive or desirable, but I also know that I don't know everything.  In God's infinite wisdom, with an eternal view and a Kingdom purpose, there are reasons I could never comprehend.  In the gardens of our lives, He is the ultimate and perfect gardener.  He knows when we are ready for the things He desires to give us, the ministries in which He wants to use us, and the lessons He needs to teach us.  It's time to trust the Master Gardener.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

The Father of Scammers

Like many folks these days, I seldom answer my phone if the number calling is not in my contacts list.  Now that telemarketers and scam artists can call from anywhere in the world while displaying a number that looks as if it could be your next-door neighbor’s, it’s wise to just ignore unrecognized calls and hope that if it truly is a legitimate call, the caller will leave a voicemail message.

The other day I received a call like that.  Most of the time, the scammers don’t leave a message, but this time I got a notification that I had a voicemail.  It went something like this:

““You will be taken under custody by the local cops. There are four serious allegations pressed on your name at this moment. We would request you get back to us so we can discuss this case before taking legal action.”

Sounds totally legitimate and scary, doesn’t it?  I’m sure if the local constabulary was on their way to arrest me, they would call to warn me first so I could get out of town before their arrival. 

Of course, like any good internet savvy person, I typed the words “four serious allegations” into Google and read about the type of scam these people were pulling.  Of course, it’s an attempt to scare folks into paying money to the scammer to avoid arrest.  I also got an email recently that prominently displayed a password I used to use a lot in the subject line.  That scammer really had obtained that password from a data breach from my health insurance company and used it to threaten me with exposure, saying that they had control of my computer and had a split screen video with my face on one side and the porn site I was allegedly viewing on the other. Of course, for a fee, they would agree not to send this video to all my email contacts.

Of course, in both cases, I knew I was innocent of anything the scammers were trying to pin on me, but I know  there are people who have enough guilt in their lives to believe  there might be some teeth in these threats and so they pay money to avoid the malicious actions these criminals are using as intimidation.

Satan is like that. 

Even as followers of Jesus, we will sometimes fall into sin, make mistakes, lose our tempers, or be unkind to someone.  We are not perfect and will not be this side of heaven.  Even a non-believer has a conscience and our conscience will tell us when we’ve done something that isn’t in line with our moral code. If we are walking in a close relationship with the Holy Spirit, He will gently rebuke us for our choices, but it is a loving rebuke meant to bring us into closer fellowship with God and to shape us into the image of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit won’t bring an accusation with a threat of condemnation, but conviction with a promise of mercy and grace.

The enemy’s accusations are meant to bring us into a place of shame, a place where we will avoid fellowship with God because we feel unworthy.  In ourselves, we are unworthy, but Jesus paid the price to bring us into a position of wholeness, cleanness, and right-standing with God.  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Many times, Satan will bring an accusation against you that isn’t even true, but because he is the father of lies, he’ll put enough truth with the lie to make you question whether you were wrong in a situation.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.

Don’t let that scam artist deprive you of fellowship with God. Don’t let him steal from you all the blessings God has given you.  Don’t give him permission to speak into your life and rob you of your joy.  Don’t answer back to him when he delivers a false accusation.  He just isn’t worth your time.

Today is Your Day.......

Back in my day.......

Have you ever heard someone use those words?  I even saw an ad today that was talking about grandparents and used the phrase, "in their day". When is my day?  Has my day passed if I'm over 30?  Heaven forbid!

When I was a teenager, I thought of someone in their 40s or 50s as old.  Now that I'm approaching my 60th birthday, my opinion on age has changed considerably! I think my attitude began changing when I was approaching 30 and feeling a little sad that my 20s were ending.  My husband said something profound one day that totally changed my perspective on aging. He said, "You act like you're sorry you lived this long."  I realized that getting older just meant that I was a survivor - it was a victory, not a defeat.

 I don't feel old and I definitely don't feel as if my time has passed or that it's time to just sit back and relax.  I'm just now really learning my full purpose in this life.  If God lets me live to be 100, I'll still be finding ways to serve.  My roles and responsibilities may change with time and with age, but each day of my senior years is just as important to God as the days He gave me in my youth.

Our church sponsored a youth conference this weekend and I am in no way taking anything away from the importance of what God wants to do through teenagers in the Kingdom.  We need to pour into our kids the wisdom of God, the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, and the dependence on Jesus that they will need to fulfill their purpose.  My prayer is that they will be established and strong and will avoid some of the pitfalls of the world that the enemy will try to use to derail their destiny. I just don't want you to think that if those days are in your rear-view mirror that you are finished.

If "our day" is only the days of our youth, what is the purpose of the rest of our lives?  The Bible shows us that God had a purpose for people of all ages, not just the young.  For every story of a young David or Samuel, there's also a story of an aged Abraham or the elderly prophetess Anna at the temple as she saw the infant Jesus.   Age means nothing to an eternal God.  He can use us from childhood to old age.  Every day is "our day" if we are walking with the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

Lessons from a Baby #10: Hold You

(This post is very brief, but it gets right to the point and it's a point on which I need to meditate right now.  Maybe it will speak to you in the same way.)

In just a few months, our beautiful granddaughter, Bella, will be two years old and at that point, I guess I'll have to stop calling her a baby.  Even now, she's communicating like a little person and beginning to put a couple of words together to make short phrases.  My favorite one is when she is standing at my feet and reaches her little arms up to me and says, "Hold you"! .......  Not "hold me", but "hold you". 

In my mind, asking to be held is communicating a need for comfort or rest, but asking to hold someone else is an expression of wanting to be close to and express love to another person.

Throughout my life, there have been many times when I have sought solace in the arms of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter for a reason.  But what joy it must bring to His heart when we come to Him just to express our love - when we ask to "hold him"!