a faith observed: Happy Birthday, Mom!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's my mom's birthday today! And so, for her birthday I am going to post a zillion pictures of Grace and Simon! Because I know that grandmas can never get too many pictures!

My mom is so great! I am so thankful to have her and I want to celebrate her life today. My mom is an incredible woman- I've been inspired to see how much she's trusted in God's love and goodness her entire life, but especially since my dad died two and a half years ago. She always sees the glass that is half full, loves to laugh even in the hard times, and continually thanks God for the many blessings in her life. I can't believe how many times she's looked at the bright side of a situation, and always sees those in need. So today, I celebrate your life, mom!

Thanks for being so wonderful mom, so kind and giving and dedicated to your family, God, and the people around you. Thanks for making me always feel loved. Thanks for making me feel like you really liked being my mother! Thanks for always being there- not missing important events, like the birth of my two children. Thanks for helping out in big and little ways and being so dependable. Thank you for giving me the joy of being raised by parents who loved each other and God with all their hearts and minds and soul. Thank you for showing me how to love others. Thanks for giving up the front seat of the car so many times, because you know how car sick I get. Thanks for giving up so many things, so many times, for me and Deb and Rachel.

Thanks for staying so positive about life and people. Thanks for believing in me and teaching me to believe in myself and others. Thanks for being so steady- always there, always trusting in God, sunshine on a rainy day.

I love you mom and hope that you have a wonderful day and an even better year ahead. Wish we were there to celebrate with you.

2 comments:

Marge said...: Aw Lizzie...how sweet of you to say such nice things about me!! I only pray I can live up to half of them! And thanks for the pictures...you are right...best birthday/Mother's Day present ever, especially when you can't be in the same place. Grace certainly is stretching out!! And Simon as cute as ever.
I love you so much...and Happy Mother's Day to you as well!; May 7, 2010 at 1:37 PM
Judith said...: What a great posting! I echo what you said so well about all the wonderful characteristics of your mom, my sister.
Yup, she's a keeper
and so are you
and so is your beautiful family.; May 8, 2010 at 10:37 AM

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This is me, a faith observed.

C.S. Lewis writes about the pain of losing his beloved wife, Joy, in his book, "A Grief Observed". In some ways this is my attempt to share my journey through grief and back into life, as the past nine months have been characterized by an immeasurable longing for my beloved father, who died suddenly this past January.

After months of hibernation from the internet, I unexpectedly find myself able to re-begin this blog and connect with my larger community of family and friends. This blog will likely reflect less of the intensity and depth of my pain and more of the simplicity and ordinary joy that keeps my life full - namely days running after our little boy, Simon Pierre. But it is because of the incredible love and presence that defined my relationship with my father, that I feel I can will myself to not just survive each day but to pour that same kind of love and attention onto Simon.

My father was an endless source of strength to me, a pillar of faith. His last words, spoken to my mother as he passed into that which is unseen, "God is good - good all the time", have remained with me through this dark cloud of grief. And when God seems hidden, when justice seems to be losing out, when life is unfair, and when death swallows up the one I most love, I remember my father's words and breathe in this promise, that the God of love is in the process of restoring that which has been destroyed.

And as my father told me in dream I've had since his death, "Look to Jesus. As a father, to point you towards Him is the best gift I can give to you." So here I am, this is me, a faith to be observed.

I hold onto that which is not always seen- the promise of God's goodness, the hope that one day in the promised new heavens and earth- on a grassy hill or a sand covered beach- the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side and I, too, will lie down side by side, next to my father, and we will laugh and laugh until there are no more tears left to cry.