I was asked to share a testimony, and a 'Letter to My Younger Self' in a MOPs (Mother's of Preschoolers) group, where I serve as a Mentor Mom. I found it to be a rewarding time of personal focus that will help me share with young moms for many years to come. Because of the Family Musical I am writing, I chose to follow a 'building' theme. I pictured that I was writing to my newly married self.
Ginger,
You have a purpose. Your life is an ongoing mission to build a magnificent sanctuary of worship. Right now, your vision is small, secure and hopeful. Keep building on the firm foundation, and your vision will develop and expand.
Some building guidelines I would like to share:
—Realize the building site is YOUR decision.
Remember, YOU cannot build a strong enough foundation on your own, and you don’t need too. You are building ON... THE (already established)... SOLID ROCK foundation. THAT is your cornerstone!
—Don’t be afraid on this mission, because this cornerstone you have chosen to build on, comes with an instruction book, and a beautiful design and plan, from a master builder, and also a teacher that will guide and instruct you along the way. Study the blueprints continually, and listen to the teacher’s instructions. They are available 24/7, so start by making regular appointments, and you will soon develop a strong, personal, ‘conversational’, relationship, and grow to be best friends, just doing life together, all the time.
—Realize you are blessed. You were born to a family that was already in the “building” business, so you were able to pick it up easily, but remember, you cannot rely on your parents acts and skills of building, to establish your home, YOU (and your husband) must do your own building. You must develop your own God given building skills.
—Remember also, that building is fun and exciting; but much of the time it can be tedious, monotonous and messy, working with unglamorous materials like bricks and mortar. Be steadfast and vigilant. It’s your attitude that determines the atmosphere of the environment you work in, because your attitude is influential and contagious.
—Make sure, that as you and your husband are building, you are fortifying the walls around you. Do not build walls between you, because even with paint and decorations on it, such a wall is NOT in the master plan. And remember, your husband brings a whole different line of building skillsets to the project. Embrace the differences, and learn to work together in a way that compliments and supports your partner.
—Teach your children how to find the cornerstone, and how to follow a blueprint, and how to learn from proper instruction, so they will have an advantage and head start when it comes time for them to build on their own.
—There WILL be seasons and there WILL BE STORMS. When they come, make sure you hunker down, stay calm, and with the guidance of the Master Builder, quickly repair any damage that may happen as a result. Trust that, since you’ve built a firm foundation on the strong cornerstone, YOU WILL SURVIVE! (In fact, as you rebuild after a storm, you can often use the extra effort to make improvements.)
During our MOPs meeting, I was asked to share three stories from my life. The topics: FAITH, FAMILY, and FRIENDS. When I shared about my faith, I told about how my mom had always been a huge spiritual influence in my life. She always taught Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) materials, in a neighborhood "Good News Clubs" in our home as I was growing up. I made my personal decision to follow the Lord when I was 5 years old, during one of those weeks.
Years later, during my newly married days; my husband Rick and I were serving in the church, pastored by Rick's Uncle Tom, in Gainesville, FL. We used to sing a song that would go through the days of the week, singing "It was on a (Monday...), somebody touched me." As you would get to the day of the week you made YOUR decision to follow Christ, you would stand up as you sang. If you didn't remember what day of the week it was, the last verse was for you. It said 'It was on a GREAT day...'. I always had to stand up on that verse, because I couldn't remember what day it was. In fact, I actually was having a deeper, internal struggle, because there was a Sunday evening when I was a teenager, that my mother brought a lady over to me, and said "You remember this lady, don't you? She's the lady that was teaching my Good News Club for me the day you got saved." My mother went on to live the rest of her life never knowing what impact that statement had on me.
Up 'til then, to me, my story had been "I was saved when I was five, when I was in my mother's Good News Club" but I always thought my Mother had lead me to the Lord, even though I couldn't really remember the event. As I stood there smiling and stunned, I listened, as my mother told this lady how she had always wanted to lead me to the Lord, but that she was glad that this lady had taught that particular day, because maybe having someone different tell the story, was the reason I responded.
From that time on, I was having an internal struggle, but I was too embarrassed to talk about it. I didn't want to hurt my mother's feelings, or be a bad reflection of CEF. I was attending Christian schools, singing special music in churches.
The last phone call I had with her, I could tell she was feeling sad, so I was planning to go visit her the following week. Because of singing that song, I thought during our visit, there might be a good time to tell her about the struggles I was having and ask her to tell me all about my conversion experience. I guess I was afraid that if I died, it wouldn't look very good if I had to have my mom tell Jesus why he should let me into His heaven, because I couldn't exactly remember. Trouble is..., my mother, tragically took her life, the weekend before I was able to have that talk. I was devastated.
So, there I was, as a young adult, that had felt like I was a Christian since I was a child, whose husband was the Minister of Music at our church; now afraid that I had never made a solid confession of faith, because... how good of a life staking confession could it have been, if I couldn't even remember it? This, along with hearing that there were people that did not know if my mother would be in heaven, (because she took her own life); had me searching the Scriptures for answers for myself, in a real, 'adult' way. Uncle Tom, my pastor at the time, helped me walk through struggle. He showed me there was no shame in relieving my doubts, by making a solid confession of faith, right then and there. We prayed together, and then Uncle Tom baptized me, in a friend's pool, that night!
Now, I can remember a specific time, in fact, it was 11:00pm, June 27, 1985. So whether Jesus considers the date on my "born again" birth certificate as that date when I was a child, or the Thursday night when I was a young adult..., it was on a GREAT day! I KNOW I've been reborn into the family of God, because I have a living, walking/talking relationship, that is growing every day. I'm building my life on the chief cornerstone (Jesus), and He is a very firm foundation.
Do you know a day or time that you were 'touched' with God's mercy and grace? If not, TODAY could be a 'great day' for you.
