A Special Day

Today is only just a little half over (by the clock) and it has already been an incredible special day.

I have had the opportunity to see someone I love in a way I have never seen them before and now feel closer than I ever had. I have also been reminded in a gentle and loving way of what REAL friendship between those who call Jesus "the Christ, the son of the living God" looks like! I consider both the opportunity and the reminder as "love gifts" from the Lord today! Although the gifts concern two different people they are intrically connected!

The "opportunity" concerns someone I have known and loved for the past 10 years. I have known this person to be quite "cerebral" and not one to deal much in feelings because, you know, "feelings" can mess you up! Today, this person shared feelings with me that showed me a tender side of them...a gentleness and openness that I wasn't sure existed but am so delighted to know that it does! It was a lovely "love gift."

The "reminder" concerns someone that I have known and loved for a shorter but equally wonderful time. I call this person "my dear friend" because they bring light and laughter and kind counsel into my life. Today, this friend reminded me of what "friendship" is really about. It is about loving and caring enough about someone to tell them the truth even if they don't think they want to hear it. It is about have the freedom to be truly be honest with someone and knowing that it is perfectly "OK."

And even more than that, a true friend can help you see the "forest" when all you can see is the one tree you are standing under. They can also help you see your "real" self even though you try to hide it! Today, "my dear friend" helped me to see the beauty and the value of my first "love gift" and all of the above. That was my second "love gift" from the Lord.

Previously I wrote about the joy of thinking about the fact that God needs no other reason to love us other than we belong to Him! And because we belong to Him, like any loving Father, He gives us special little "love gifts" when we least expect them! I am so grateful for his gifts of love to me today.

Praise be God forever and ever and ever!!

Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day. It is a day that I am somewhat fearful of because I am not a mother and I do not have a mother.

It wasn’t always so with me. I once was a mother. My only child, my daughter Jennifer Lee Lemmer was born on October 16, 1973. I loved that first Mother’s Day in 1974! Sadly, it was my last time to celebrate. Jennie died on October 16, 2004. It was her first birthday and my 29th birthday.

But I still had a mother. Patricia Lee Rossiter was perhaps not the very best mother in the whole world but she was MY mother so that made her the best with me. I loved her dearly. After a deathbed change of heart to embrace Jesus Christ as her personal Savior, she died on March 3, 1987, just six days after her 61st birthday. I am now older than my mother ever lived to be.

So those two short lived lives have made Mother’s Day very difficult for me, even though Jennie died 33 years ago and my mother died 20 years ago. My heart still yearns and breaks for them and I look forward to the day when we will be reunited at the feet of Jesus.

Eleven years ago I became a stepmother to Bob’s son, Dave, who I fondly call “our son.”
Dave is married now and has made me a grandmother to three beautiful grandchildren; Jacob (5), Karly (3) and Nicholas (8 months.) I love Dave and I love the kids and being “grandma” suits me just fine.

This Mother’s Day started as so many others have with thoughts of Jennie and my mom going through my head. However, today, God reminded me that while being a mother and having a mother are truly important, the most important thing is LOVE!

My dear friend Cyndi has three incredible children. They all give me big hugs when they see me. Today her oldest daughter, Rachel, held my hand while we walked through the church looking for my Prayer Book. This afternoon while at a concert one of her twins, Rebecca, sat on my lap and cuddled with me. The other twin, Jonathan, gave me a big hug when he saw me. I felt incredibly loved today.

God, from His heaven, hugged me today and I was surrounded by the mystery of all that He is. Happy Mother’s Day!