Pictured are two women who overcame in life. This is my mother and my grandmother attending my wedding. My grandmother lost her husband when he was only forty-seven years old, and she was still raising several of her nine children, and she had no money. I am not sure how she made it, but she did.

My mother was one of kindest people on the planet. She did not have much materially but was loved by so many, because she so kind and caring. My father was a stern, self-centered man, and never treated her as she deserved. She pretty much raised her eight children by herself, kept house, cooked, and put up with so much, including a man who was often drunk and scary.

Let me share a memory of my mom. My mother had a leg amputated because of diabetes that had ravaged her body. She stayed in the hospital a while, and I still remember the moment she came home. It was difficult to get her into the house, and once she was inside, it was a rare moment when I saw my mother cry.  Oh, I know she cried internally a lot, but kept it from us.  She was faced with the reality that life was going to be even more difficult.

Mom soon adapted and returned to the things that she felt needed her attention.  Most of her children lived out of town, so the day by day routine became hers again.  My father had to get up at five in the morning to get to work.  Daddy liked a cooked breakfast, and my mother had always gotten up to prepare it for him.  He never cooked for himself, cleaned house for himself, or did much of anything for himself.  After Mama’s leg amputation, Daddy still did little for himself. 

My mother would get up at 5:00 a.m., lift her body into the wheelchair, roll into her small, crowded kitchen to cook for my father.  The diabetes had also taken a significant part of her vison, yet she would find a way to cook.  Daddy would eat and leave.  Mom would clean up the mess and go about her day trying to get things done. She also had a hot meal on the table for dad, who would come home for lunch every day. 

My mom went to her grave at age sixty-three still not complaining, and still struggling to do the best she could.  It can bring tears to my eyes now to picture her.  She had a heart attack as she tried to cover my dad, who was already in bed and was cold. She wheeled into the room to cover him and that was her last act of kindness she would ever do.

In 1970 while I was in college, my mother called to tell me that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.  I was a student at a Christian university, preparing for a life of ministry.  Needless to say, I was so excited.     

Why am I so excited? Because now Mama has a beautiful home with her Lord and Savior.  Mama can get around without a wheelchair.  Mama is not overtired.  Mama is enjoying life to a degree she never came close to experiencing on earth. (And I think she’s probably hanging out with my son Bryan.)

So, on this Mother’s Day, I honor Ailene Ruth Wells.  What an example of grace and kindness she was.  What an example of endurance she was.  I did not realize until I became a mother just how much she sacrificed for her children.   I cannot wait to see her again on a great reunion day in Heaven.  Mama, thanks for the life you lived.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed… ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'” – Proverbs 31-28-29

Yesterday was an unusual Resurrection Day for most of us.  There was almost no dressing up to attend to a gathering of believers.  There were few big family celebrations around the dinner table.  Coronavirus changed everything about Resurrection Day – not so quick!  Coronavirus did not change the day at all.  Jesus is still risen!  The power of the message was not changed.  We serve an incredible, loving, sin-forgiving, conquering King!

There is a danger on the Monday after Easter. How easy it is to move from Resurrection Sunday to an ordinary Monday, living life as if the resurrection was just an event! We’ll ask others how their Easter was, and then move on to the quarantine isses, weather, politics, work, the latest TV show and how irritated we are with people.

Too often we are unaware of the significance of all that we heard and celebrated the previous day. We celebrated a risen Lord who now resides inside of us, giving us power to walk in this life. Yet, too many will continue to fight sin in their own strength, walk through life as if they walk alone, and battle a nagging fear of death and even a fear of life. The resurrection will fade into the white noise of life, making no noticeable impact.

We are not sure what the disciples did on the Monday after Jesus was resurrected. Perhaps they stayed together celebrating the news of the resurrection. Perhaps they laughed, worshiped and resurrection joy flooded their day. Maybe they kept a low profile in case soldiers or other religious leaders were looking for them. Perhaps they sat around having conversations, trying to piece together exactly what occurred. We can’t be certain of anything that happened on Monday, but we can be certain of one thing: their lives were never the same. The men who had been so timid and fearful were now brave and courageous. They became emboldened to preach the good news, live the good news and in many cases, die for the good news. Resurrection changed their lives!

Let it be the same for you and me! Do not allow the day after Resurrection Sunday to take away the power, encouragement, hope and celebration that was experienced in celebrating our Risen Lord! The tomb is still empty and no matter what Monday brings, Jesus is still alive! As you face today, this week and the future, keep the empty tomb at the forefront of your thoughts. There is still real power, hope, victory and confidence because of a risen Savior.

As I reflected on this Monday, I found myself asking God to make me soil for the resurrected life of Christ to begin to germinate, grow, come forth. Oh God, break up the ground of my heart and plow me deep, deeper than I have ever been. I long to let the power of new life work within me. God, I don’t want resurrection to be just an event in life, but an event that changed my life.

Don’t let today be the Monday after Resurrection Day. Let today be the day that the empty tomb empowered you to be a victorious child of God. Easter is not over, and never will be.

I do a lot of traveling. While I book most of my travel myself, on occasion, I have used a travel agent. I have a few friends who are travel agents, and their expertise can come in very handy.  They know how to send me on a trip!

Some people are travel agents for guilt trips. They can masterfully make others walk in a state of guilt. “You should spend more time with me. You should keep your house neater. Your kids are the way they are because of you. It’s all your fault! You should help me out financially. Are you really going to eat that? You need to have more faith.”  

Guilt trip agents are a sad bunch. But, even sadder is when we accept the ticket to take a guilt trip! Guilt trips agents are in your family, at your place of employment, and there are plenty in the Church.

Recently I read an exchange between some folks on social media.   It was a conversation about faith.  It wasn’t long until the conversation deteriorated into one stating that it was a lack of faith as to why the situation did not work out.               

What a guilt trip!  If you just have enough faith, all of life will work out like you want? Just believe God and you’ll get what you are praying for?  I wish it was that simple.

Is faith necessary? Yes! Does faith please God? Yes! The Word tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Should we walk around as doubt-filled, hopeless people? No! Doesn’t it also take faith to walk with God when life doesn’t work out with flowers and cheerful songs? That takes great faith.

I have learned to trust God when healing comes and when it doesn’t. I trust God when I have money in the bank and when I don’t. I trust God with my tears and my fears. (And I have had plenty of both the last few years.) Hebrews 11 tells us “By faith Enoch walked with God …”. You can find a short version of his life in Genesis 5. Enoch walked with God during a period of great darkness when few men walked with God. Yet, Enoch determined, by faith, to walk with God.

As believers, we must determine that by faith we will walk with God. Life won’t always make sense. Faith won’t always make sense. It’s not always an issue that if I have enough faith, things will work out like I envisioned. I have had to learn to walk with God no matter the season in which I find myself.

This is my testimony, “He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.” Some of us need to fire our travel agents!

Gaylon and I just returned from St. Simons Island, GA, where we were a part of my sister Margaret’s eightieth birthday celebration. We were raised rough in a family with eight children. Seven are still living and all were in attendance at this celebration.

As I looked around the room, I almost teared up.  There we all stood ranging from ages sixty-eight through eighty.  We were no longer small children suffering from poverty, abuse, and terror.  There we stood as much older adults. We had overcome!  We had not just survived, but we had overcome.

Several of my nieces and nephews were in attendance.   I rarely get to see these young men and women.  While a few of us were telling stories of what it was like growing up, we reminisced with funny stories and sad stories.  Our nieces were captivated to hear our stories.  They had very little knowledge of what the Wells household had been like.  They said, “We’ve never heard these stories, and would love to hear more.”

The next day at lunch we had those nieces sit with a few of us “kids” as we told them more stories.  Again, they loved hearing about their ancestory.  One thing we said, after telling stories, was how we had all done well in life regardless of how we had started our lives.

May I share some things that have been on my mind after this time with family?

1. Share history with your family.  It’s important that they know what you have overcome.
2. Get together with family to laugh and celebrate.
3. How you began life does not have to control how you end life.

Life was beyond rough when we were growing up.  As I listened to the stories my siblings shared, there were moments of pain.  But, over and over, we came back to laughter and gratitude that we no longer lived in that place!  I don’t want to live in the pain I suffered decades ago!  I want to walk healed and whole.  From a personal perspective, I have been  privileged to raise three sons, who never  experienced the life I knew.  That makes me smile.

I never tire of the testimony of my life!  I was a broken child.  A woman found me, took me to church, and introduced me to Jesus Christ.

The road to get where I am today was long and winding.  The early years of walking with God produced little in my life.  For many years, I  was filled with anger and resentment about the past. My mind screamed about the “should have’s” and “ought to be’s.” I kept a mental list about how my childhood should have been.  There were periods with no communication with family because it was just easier than facing the past…until I saw the light.

As the years rolled by, I eventually learned that I could overcome my past. The story of my past didn’t change, but the story of my future did change!   I could live a “normal” life and raise a healthy family.  God helped me to transform my pain instead of transfer my pain. Through the mentoring I received from great women of  God, I made a decision to go all in with God, to live by His principles, and to trust Him with the healing process.  I’m so glad I did!

Are you stuck in pain?  That can be understandable.  Both Jesus and I have compassion for what you have been through.  Are you ready to be unstuck?  Jesus Christ awaits you with open arms.  He’s ready to walk the journey with you.  There are more chapters to be written about your life.  Your story is not over, and with Christ, the best chapters are yet to be written.

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13

It’s hard to believe that twenty years ago, many were sitting around waiting for catastrophic events to unfold.  The year 2000 was about to break, and the prediction was that computers would crash and create havoc.  Well, none of that happened!

Here we sit  twenty years later, on the last day of 2019 about to end another decade.  Exactly what happened in the 2010s:

1. The first iPad went on sale.
2. We saw Occupy Wall Street
3. Black Lives Matter
4. The ALS ice bucket challenge.
5. A shocking presidential result in the 2016 presidential election.
6. A rise in mass shootings and terrorist attacks.
7. The Supreme Court of the United States legalized gay marriage.
8. A new generation of Royals were born.
9. We experienced a total solar eclipse.
10. We lost Dr. Billy Graham, as he stepped into his heavenly reward.

I only highlighted a few of the things that we saw in the United States.  One thing is for sure, the 2010s were unlike anything we have seen in a time span of ten years.  Violence, social media, and politics have all become ugly.

As I reflect on my own life, I can say that the 2010s had very high highs, and very low lows.

1. One of our sons got married.
2. Six grandchildren were added, four by birth and two by adoption.
3. I traveled the United States and the world preaching the Gospel.
4. We lost our son Bryan at the age of 36. He never got to meet his son who was born soon after.
5. One of our precious grandsons was diagnosed with autism.
6. We paid off our house.
7. Alabama won four national championships in football.
8. I broke an ankle, big toe, and leg bone from a fall.
9. Gaylon lost his mother.
10. I lost a brother, the first of eight siblings to die.

Whew!  That’s a lot of stuff in the country and in our lives, and that’s only a fraction of it.

Sometimes remembering is a good thing!  What has reminiscing done for me?  It has shown me once again, that God is so faithful.   I am honest enough to tell you that there have been times in the past decade, that I was trying to hold it together on the outside, but filled with pain, fear and doubt on the inside.   I am so thankful for a God who, in His mercy, didn’t cut me out of the family.  Instead, He walked closely by my side, and became strength in my weakness.  He caught the gallons of tears I cried.   I can testify that I have been kept by the power of God.

Do you find yourself in a painful place today?  Have the stresses of life caught up with you?  Do you wonder if anyone sees or even cares?  Has life taken its toll?

Though you might not feel it, see it, or think it — God sees you; God hears you; God is there with you. He knows the ache in your heart.  He sees every pain.  If you feel crushed in spirit, God has declared that He will be close to you.  God is for you, not against you.

As we enter 2020, let me encourage you through the Word of God, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help … the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit” – Psalm 34:15-18;   “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Difficult people are everywhere, and I do mean everywhere!  They are at home, work, church, restaurants, doctors’ offices,  schools – everywhere!    Difficult people can bring you to tears, make you want to pull your hair out, and suck the life out of you.  And, let’s be truthful, sometimes we ourselves have been the difficult person.

There was a time that I thought I could change people through reason and persuasion.  If I had a rational conversation with them, or if I was nice, they’d listen!  Well, occasionally that was successful, but generally we can’t change anyone.

When I was ready to leave for college, I was so excited.  I could hardly wait to start this new adventure in my life.  After growing up in a tough, dysfunctional environment, I would finally have a chance to be free.  Not so fast!  My father said, “You are not leaving to go anywhere.”  Fear came over me.  What would happen?  Would it be safe for me to leave? Even more, would it be safe for my mother if I left?  That night with tears wetting my pillow, I asked God to do something.

I got up the next morning and left for college.  As we drove away, the last thing I saw was my mother standing on the porch crying and smiling.  I was so worried about my mother.  What would happen!

After being at school a few days, I came up with enough money to call home for three minutes.  Pushing through the fear of what I might hear from my mother, I called anyway.  When I asked how were things after I left?  My mother’s response, “He never said a word!”  What?!  HE NEVER SAID A WORD!

As we celebrate this Christmas, my mind ponders Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She needed God to work on Joseph.   Think of the story she told him.  “Joseph, I am going to have a baby.  I know we are engaged, and we both know you are not the father.  I can explain!  It was God.  I was overcome by the Spirit of God, and in me has been birthed the Messiah.  Isn’t that exciting!”

Joseph wasn’t buying it.  The engagement was off.  At least he held his temper in check, and decided not to go public with the story, and instead just walked away.  Mary’s heart must have been broken as Joseph walked away.  Could Mary trust God?  Mary had to ask herself, “Can I trust God to work out every problem I encounter if I submit myself to His will?  Can he even deal with the person that I am incapable of changing?”

Conflict was raging in Joseph’s soul.  That night Joseph was restless on his bed as he contemplated that Mary had violated their engagement promise. “How could she betray me that way? I can’t go through with this marriage. I’ll be nice about it, but I am ending this thing!”

Mary must have felt hopeless that Joseph would feel this way, but she had to leave Joseph in God’s hands. No amount of talking, pleading and begging could change his mind. As Joseph lay upon his bed, God spoke to him. God changed Joseph’s heart, and he walked in the will of God and became the earthly father to Jesus Christ.

Who are you wrestling with? What’s troubling you, making you feel powerless? Talking and pleading might not be the answer. Talking to God and asking Him to change that which seems unchangeable is the answer. Leave it in God’s hands.

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” – Jeremiah 32:27

Sexual abuse is in the headlines a lot.  Here is my story.  There is bad news and then wonderful news.  Read to the end!

My six-year-old heart was about to pound out of my chest.  There I was sitting in the middle of a field of kudzu vines, seen by no one and heard by no one.  My tears poured down my face as I recalled the trauma that I had just experienced.

It was a Saturday, and on this Saturday my mother had gone somewhere for a few hours.  My mom was a very caring woman, who had lived in a difficult marriage.  I don’t recall where Mom was that day, but I’m sure she walked there, because we didn’t own a car.  That left me home alone with my father for several hours.

As a sat on the floor of the bedroom playing, I could hear my drunk father snoring loudly as he napped.  After a few minutes, the snoring stopped.  My father stumbled to the room where I was playing and changed my life forever.   Sexual abuse began at age six.  I was robbed of my innocence, my security, and my safety.

Once I was out of his grasp, I ran out the door, and I ran and ran and ran.  I ended up in a field of kudzu, shaking and shaken.   My emotions were ransacked and strewn in a plethora of directions.  It was as if my very soul had been snatched from me.

For many years, I suffered through fear and anxiety.  I had nowhere to go.  Living under the same roof with a drunken abuser was my only choice.  For many, many years I lived with anger, anxiety, fear, and depression as I carried my childhood with me everywhere I went.  I tried to wish it away or act as if it never happened.   I failed miserably.

I accepted Jesus Christ at age seventeen, went to a Christian university, and married a wonderful man.  That did not fix my brokenness.  I was saved, but not healed.  Around age thirty, completely broken, filled with anger, and in a dark place, I called out to Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.  The Lord heard my cry, and His Spirit swept over my crushed spirit.  That day began a healing journey in my life.  It has definitely been a journey and not an overnight trip.  It has been worth every step of the journey!  I am a testimony of the healing, life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

Let’s fast forward sixty years.  I am now a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a Bible teacher, and a healed person!  I was “used” by my father, but I am now used by my Father God.  I once sat in a field of tears.  I now sit in a field of dreams and hope.

Obviously in a short blog, I can’t give a lot of detail of the process God brought me through. I can’t promise everything will be healed instantaneously.   I do want to say, “God sees your pain.  God sees your isolation. God sees your dark place.”  I also want to say, “God has healing for you.  God has hope for you. God has a wonderful life for you.”

To the Church, I say, “Let’s become healing agents for those who have been wounded by sexual abuse.”   This subject is a big news topic today, and the Church should lead the way for healing.  Let there be a safe, non-judgmental place for healing to occur.  A sexually wounded person can’t just be told, “Get over it!”   They need patient healers to help them navigate the treacherous waters of walking from wound to healing. As a church, we must train people to help with the healing of sexual wounds.   If I had only had people who knew how to help me, I know healing would have come in a more timely fashion.  Offer healing to the sexually wounded.  Bring in speakers to address the healing power of Jesus Christ.  Church, rise up!

Jesus won the victory over all the sins we have committed, and all the sins that have been committed against us. The good news is that the wounds of life do not have to define us.  We can be defined by the new life that Jesus Christ offers us.

I repeat, “I am now a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a Bible teacher, and a healed person!  I was “used” by my father, but I am now used by my God.  I once sat in a field of tears.  I now sit in a field of dreams and hope.”

God has a field of healing for you!

“The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.”  Psalm 9:9-10

On September 25, 1951, a baby girl was born into an impoverished, dysfunctional environment.   She was the eighth child in the family, where the oldest was only twelve years old at the time.  The house only had running water in a sink on the back porch, and it only provided cold water.  I can’t even imagine living that way now, but I was that little baby.

Barbara Lynn Wells weighed in at a whopping eleven pounds and eight ounces.  I came home in a training bra and control top pamper, so all my life I have understood the battle of the bulge!  As I get older, I am noticing a lot of changes in the mirror!  I now see little jewels like crow’s feet, gray hair, a spare tire (or maybe a set of them), sagging body parts.  Hey, age takes a toll on this human body.

Life was very tough as a child, very tough.  There was abuse from a very harsh father, who had no idea how to care for or protect his children.  As a matter a fact, his children needed to be protected from him.  Many psychologists might say that little girl, born on September 25, never stood a chance in that harsh, abusive environment.  She would be scarred for life, and never realize her full potential.

BUT GOD!  This small two-word phrase communicates a tremendous message to all who will hear. It is God’s response to Satan’s challenge. It is the bottom line. It is the last word. It is all over but the shouting.  “But God” changes everything!

Today, on this my sixty-eighth birthday, I celebrate me!  I celebrate a God, who said, “This one will be wounded by the mess of life, but she will become my daughter.  She will be born again, and I will give her new life.”  I celebrate my first birth that was ordained by God, and I celebrate my second birth when I was born again in 1969.  Fifty years of new life has rewritten the story of my life

Today, I celebrate my birth!  I believe Heaven is shouting, “Happy birthday, girl!”  God handpicked the day that I/you would be born, and the world would forever be changed.   The day of my birth and yours was chosen on purpose, according to the will of God!

Yes, today is my birthday! On this day sixty-eight years ago, God chose that I would be born.  The older I get, the more I’m grateful to God for another year on earth as child of God, who is healed and whole.  I celebrate another year as His ambassador. My last day here may be tomorrow or twenty years from now—only the Lord knows. In the meantime, I want to make a big deal about another birthday, because it is truly a gift from my heavenly Father.

So, am I sad about being sixty-eight years old?  No, not at all.  I can say that the Lord has been gracious to me. Through His power, I am an overcomer!  I’ve overcome many hurdles in life, won many battles and overcame many fears.  Sixty-eight is a new year offering new destinies to be reached in God.  I can’t wait to see what He has in store.

When your next birthday rolls around, be grateful for that new year that has been given to you.  Celebrate that God wanted you to be born.  Heaven is singing happy birthday, and I love the song!

Thank You, Lord for creating me and giving me an incredible life filled with Your presence.  Thank You that I’ve been able to raise an amazing family that serves You.  My heart is full, and   I am blessed beyond measure!  Thank You, God for birthdays. Each day is a blessing from You.    I pray that this year I continue to grow in the things of the Spirit.   I do not want to be the same this time next year.  I give You this year, and I again surrender my life to the One who ordained that I would be born, and that I would be born again.  Amen

 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” – Psalm 139:13

After a scarring childhood and painful upbringing, I gave my life to Jesus Christ and set out to attend a Christian college.  I certainly worked on obeying the “rules” of Christianity, and I was determined to be a strong Christian who walked with God.  I was saved and on my way to fulfilling my destiny.  I was definitely saved by the grace of God, busy for God, but not transformed by God!

Throughout life, God is transforming us to be increasingly like Jesus—His Spirit residing within helps us to combat sin and teaches us how to live.  An event one day revealed to me that I was saved but not transformed.  I came face-to-face with this truth through a friend.

Gaylon and I spent thirty-three years in pastoral ministry.  While serving at one of our churches, I became good friends  with “Alice” who was Gaylon’s secretary.  Alice was fun, encouraging, and very helpful.

Since I was very involved in the ministry of the church,  I often came into the office.  Alice never knew which Barbara would show up.  My mood swings were all too common, to others, but not to me.  All I saw was an “on-the-ball” woman doing the work of the Kingdom!  Oh, I did accomplish a lot of things, but I did not leave the sweet aroma of Christ in the process.  I was blind to it.

One day I was apparently “acting out” and Alice said, “Barbara, I am sorry for all you went through as a child or that others have hurt you, but do us all a favor and get over it.  You are destroying your ability to be effective.”

How dare she!  I left and went home.

I seethed for a good bit of the day.  “Doesn’t anyone appreciate all the hard work I do?  I can’t help the way I am sometimes, after all, look at all I have been through.”  In my mind, I had one of the greatest pity parties of all times, black balloons and all!

Later, I sat down to pray, and I reported Alice to God, telling Him all she had said to me.  Amidst all my feelings of self-pity, God broke through, and spoke into my soul.  I sensed Him saying, “She is right.”   No way, God!  Let me make sure You understand the story.  Let me repeat it for you.  Again, I sensed God say, “She is right.”

As I sat before the Lord that day, He began to show me that I desperately needed transformation.  I was saved but walking in the fruit of the flesh instead of the fruit of the Spirit.  I could no longer excuse myself when I was acting in a way that did not represent the goodness of God.

I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit was not very evident in my life.  I decided that day, that I would yield to God, and allow the fruit of the Spirit to be developed in my life.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22-23

The different characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit focus on how we respond to God, and how we respond to those around us.  I needed a lot of help with the latter.  The time for excuses was over.  It is a life-long journey to overcome self!  Though the process has seemed long at times, God has brought much-needed change to my life.  It is through submission to God, that God empowers me to be effective in the arena of life.

Today, there are so many excuses for misbehavior.  I can’t help my adultery, my temper outbursts, my spiritual laziness, my attitude, my ___________. Not true, child of God!  We have been made more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. I might have moods or trials, but they don’t have to dictate my actions. I want to honor God with my actions.  How about you?

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 1:6-8

Mother’s Day is here again, and it can have so many emotions.

First and foremost, there is the thanksgiving for our mothers. My mom had such a hard life, but she put up with a lot of stuff so her eight kids would have a roof over their heads. From her I learned what sacrificial love is. Though I did not understand it at the time, I totally get it now. She taught me so many things. After all she taught me to use a big-girl potty, and that is an invaluable tool in my life. She has been gone for almost thirty-seven years now, and how I wish I could hold her hand and kiss her sweet face.

There is the joy of being a mother. I feel so blessed to be the mother of Michael, Bryan and Stephen. I was about as imperfect a mother as could be found when my boys were young. I was still in the healing process of my own life. I wish I had known then what I know now about being a healed, whole person. It is worth it to you, and your family, to get as whole as possible, so you can enjoy the journey. Also, I was such a perfectionist, wanting everything perfectly clean. Moms, you don’t have to let it be a pig sty, but don’t worry about every little thing, and instead have fun with your children.

For some, Mother’s Day is as painful as it is joyful. Perhaps the relationship with their mother was never good. For some, this is the first year without Mother. Some are dealing with children who have gone down a dark path, and have alienated themselves from the family.  Others are dealing with barrenness, longing to have a child of their own to hold in their arms. Some have the pain of miscarriage. I know that pain all too well and can still remember how that felt. I am personally praying with young women who long to have a child. How I wish I could take away their sorrow!

Some mothers, like me, have mixed emotions. I have so much joy with my sons, their wives and those precious grandchildren. Yet,  some days  I still feel warm tears flow down my face wishing my son Bryan could call.  I know he is in heaven, and I will see him again, but I wish I could see him now. I recently had a conversation with a woman, who had lost a son. I did not know her, but we both stood and cried talking about our sons. We rejoiced over what we do have, but miss our sons very much.  On our prayer list, Gaylon and I currently have seven different families who have lost children.  Many will have their first Mother’s Day without that child.

In scripture, Hannah is always the mother to whom I am drawn. Her story is recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 1. Hannah is an example of a woman of faith. She endures years of silent suffering because of her barrenness and the cruel harassment at the hand of her rival, Penninah. She goes to the place of worship, knowing how painful it is. She faithfully worships, pouring out her tears and petitions. And when God answers her prayers, she not only keeps her promise, she explodes with praise.

As a woman, Hannah knew sorrow for many years, strife in her home, barrenness and pain. She never gave up on God. She poured her heart out year and year, and God miraculously turned her situation around, BUT only after years of getting up every day to the same set of circumstances. Hannah was a woman of faith, and it was a faith that gave her the strength to face the joys and sorrows of life.

As a woman, wherever you find yourself this Mother’s Day, don’t give up on God. I can promise you, God will NEVER give up on you! He hears the cries of your heart. He sees every tear that falls. He knows the depth of pain you feel. Be a woman of faith, for faith will see you through. He understands your sorrow and your pain and He’ll meet you right where you are.