Book Club Thursday: Mama Made the Difference- Lesson Seven

Mamas Teach Us to Let God Be God

This is a lesson that I am learning to teach Addie on a daily basis.  As you have learned about me, I sometimes hold on to Addie a little too tightly.  I do so in an effort to keep her from getting hurt or making an unnecessary mistake, but even God at times lets go of His grip to teach us a valuable lesson.  He lets us bump ourselves when we struggle to wiggle out of His grip in order to teach us that we would have been better off just relaxing and letting Him guide our path.

I can only imagine the sorrow in His heart for us when we learn our lessons the hard way because of how my heart breaks for Addie when she has to learn those same lessons. 

It is so tempting to become arrogant as we grow and mature, to directly or covertly believe "we can do it my way, God." Instead of waiting out the storm, allowing the ice to thaw and reveal His path, we trudge ahead in our headstrong freedom until we fall flat on our faces and wonder what hit us.

How many times do we figure out the best way out of our circumstances without checking with the Lord to see what His plan for us is.  We jump headlong into a decision without praying or seeking God's guidance, but go running back to Him to fix our mistake when things don't turn out the way we had planned.  God in His goodness and love allows us to make certain decisions in order to teach us once again that He is God and that we are not. 

Knowing that God has chosen us for a blessing is not difficult to accept.  It is when we realize that favor often shows up in unfavorable moments of life that we are afraid to proceed with that unalterable "yes" that God longs to hear us say to Him.

Accepting God's favor and His blessings is so easy for us to do.  We usually do that with no reservations at all.  However, sometimes His blessings and favor come with some unfavorable moments.  Are we willing to accept those moments, too?

God has allowed me to grow by leaps and bounds in the last two and a half years in so many areas.  However, in order for this growth to happen, it took the passing of my mother.  Had I been given the choice of maturing or keeping Mom, I probably would have chosen to keep Mom.  However, God didn't want me to remain where I was.  I had to let God be God.

Whatever you are facing today is not impossible.  Healing is not impossible. Deliverance is not impossible.  Getting the job you need is not impossible.  Seeing your child drug free is not impossible.  Graduating from college when you are fifty is not impossible.  A happy marriage is not impossible. No matter what you are up against or how difficult it appears, it is not impossible.

I am learning on a daily basis from people that I know, from stories I hear, and from my own life that nothing is impossible for God.  When read Biblical accounts, we see what God is capable of.  However, when we look at ourselves and our own circumstances, we can feel that our circumstances are greater than God can handle.  We serve a big God who can do big things.

The past two weeks in our Bible time, Addie has been learning about Joshua and the battle of Jericho.  Out of all the things we have learned about the account, Addie favorite part is that God told the people to walk around the city without talking. Go figure! She also like to pretend she is blowing a trumpet when the walls fall down.  At the end of our lesson, the main thought that is supposed to be conveyed is that when we obey God, He does big things.  When we try to do things on our own and we do not obey, God's power cannot be unleashed on our behalf.

One thing I have learned through this chapter is that I have to teach Addie through my response to her that obedience to God brings blessing, but pulling away and trying to work things out on our own produces consequences.  There are times when making her own choices are appropriate, but there are also times when submitting to her authorities and their choices are in her best interest.  Not always an easy lesson to learn or teach. 

Homework for the heart: Recall a time when your mother allowed you to do something on your own when she really wanted to help you.  What did you learn from this experience?  How often do you allow God to be God in your life presently?

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I also want to take a moment to thank all of our Veterans for their love for God and country and for the sacrifices that they have made for our freedoms.  I am a very grateful citizen.