I recently left social media, and I have had ZERO regrets. However, I decided that if I had a momentous occasion, I would post about it. Well, one of those precious moments happened this past weekend, and I knew I would share it today, September 17—my Mama's birthday.
Today is a day of celebration, but this year, I am more inclined to celebrate the man who loved my Mama, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health—my sweet Daddy.
For the first time in a while, he stood in the pulpit and shared a message and a challenge that spoke deeply to my heart. We could only catch a snippet, but he shared a message from John 9 that is so special to me because I have seen him live it out my entire life.
My Daddy has always taught me to love God and to love His Word. He has taught me to serve when it is hard and to love with tenderness. He has taught me to believe in the healing power of a loving King who would take the time to stop and bring new life to a blind man.
Did you know that for 33 years, my Daddy would work all night loading trucks at UPS, and when his shift was over, he would change into his nice clothes and visit people in the hospital?
Can you believe that he would sleep a tiny amount of hours during the afternoon and then get right back up to go to the Church to prepare sermons...or fix something...or help someone?
I know for a fact that there have been many occasions where he took money right out of his pocket to bless someone in need.
It didn't just start there though...You would be amazed to know that when my wonderful Daddy was a young man, he would hitchhike back and forth between Memphis and Jackson simply to share the gospel with whomever would pick him up.
My Daddy never claimed to be anything but one who loved the Lord. We have never had a lot of money or influence, but by his lead, we have always been a wealthy family who knew the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
At the end of his message, he extended a challenge that I felt in my bones. He pressed the entire congregation to share the gospel with just ONE person over the next year. He reminded us that the first Church started with only 120 people, but because they lived with the intention of making the name of Jesus known, they grew to over 100,000 in their first 25 years.
We live in a sick, sin-infested world, but do we stop to think that if every single one of us were to be committed to sharing the gospel, the whole world would be changed?! Do we believe that the touch of the Master's hand would change everything?!
Do we live with the faith that GOD CAN DO WONDROUS THINGS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT TO THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST?!
This picture was taken at the end of a long, sweet day, in a silly moment as Great-Poppy draped his big heavy coat on the shoulders of the tiniest member of our family, but I cannot help but feel the profound nature of it all. My Mama and Daddy loved each other deeply and displayed a sacrificial love with us that could only come from God. They were intentional together...and my Daddy still to this day...to pass that baton on to us so that the name of Jesus will be known!
So...I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the life of my Mama today than to appreciate the life of the men who loved her to no end - Jesus and my Daddy. And to live out the legacy of those who came before me...to take the baton singing songs of the healing power of Jesus Christ into the generations coming after me!
Thank you, Daddy, for being you! You are a gift from my heavenly Father!
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand (forearm), and they shall be used as bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deut 6:4-9 AMP
"One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25
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