Devotionals for the Heart: God's Love

God’s love is stronger than even a mother’s love
A devotional Jessica Brodie

It’s a five-by-five booklet of vanilla construction paper, folded and stapled just so, and it’s one of the most precious things I possess.

Titled “About Mom,” my now-preteen son, Cameron, crafted it for me when he was about six, probably for Mother’s Day. The booklet consists of eighteen pages, each with a single sentence on each page written in pencil in what was his very best handwriting:

Thank you for everything.

You are so nice and sweet.

I love you so much.

I will behave every day.

You mean a lot to me.

I love your eyes and your heart.

I will never be mean to you ever again.

You are not mean.

You are sweet and pretty.

I will not give you a mean look.

I love red because you love it.

You do not do anything wrong.

If I were you, I would be bad.

I would protect you.

I would give them a punch, a kick butt.

I hope you’re safe.

That’s why you should stay out of danger.

Cameron is my oldest, the boy who made me a mom in the first place, and his sensitive and fierce soul is reflected in each of those pages—his valiant small-boy pledge to protect me from danger, his promise to behave, his insistence that he’ll never be mean to me or give me a mean look, his flattery, his sweet words. I look at him now, feet taller and almost thirteen, and can still hear those words pour from his lips, still know he meant them with every ounce of his being.

We’re close now, Cameron and I, but I know things are changing in his world. He’s in seventh grade now, and soon he’ll be in high school, then college. He’ll meet the woman of his dreams and start a family. I hope and pray we’ll be just as close as the years pass, hope I’ll be able to love and know his wife and his children, hope I’ll see him grow old, become even more wise and mature and kind. I have so many dreams for this child, now and far into the future.

Is that what God thinks when He looks at us, I wonder? He hears our prayers in the lonely night or the stillness of dawn, heartfelt and pleading, and knows we mean them completely. He hopes we’ll stay close to Him, hopes we’ll remember Him, though He understands—even if He doesn’t much like it—when the distractions of life pull us here and there and far from Him. Still, He is there, His love unchanging and unfailing, heart soaring when we return.

That love is sometimes unbelievable to us. We feel guilt about our sins, guilt that we turned from our Lord. We fear He will reject or forget us.

Never, God tells us through His prophet, Isaiah: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16 NIV).

God loves us even more than a mother loves her children. His love is more than words, more than a life stage, more than a promise. It’s a covenant, a seal, a truth we can count on for always. He loves us so much He even “gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

As consuming and powerful as they are to me, the dreams I have for my sweet son can’t hold a candle to the dreams God has for us, His children. Those dreams include eternal life! Life forever, with Him! We are blessed beyond measure.

Today, I hope you love the people in your world—whether children, spouse, family, or friends—with all your heart…and remember that however strong that love is, God’s love for us is ever stronger. Forever.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is a Christian author, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach. 

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism.

Learn more about her fiction and read her blog at http://jessicabrodie.com/shiningthelight.

Words of Faith: Bonnie's story about her mom, hope and gratitude

A Living Treasure

A Words of Faith story by Bonnie Leon

My mother has always seen the world through eyes of hope and gratitude. When I was young, she was a hands-on type of mother who played and worked alongside her family. I have precious memories of her rounding the bases during one of our family baseball games, picking huckleberries with us in the High Cascades, and swing dancing at her eightieth birthday party.

Mom is ninety-one now. She no longer plays ball or picks berries or dances. She spends most of her time indoors at an assisted living center.

Four years ago Mom’s life took an unexpected turn. As a child she survived rheumatic fever, but was left with a damaged heart valve. Somehow or other, that valve held up through the years, until at age eighty-seven, she was told it needed to be replaced or she would die. Mom was pragmatic about the diagnosis and decided to do all she could to live. She’d get the valve replaced, and either she would die or be returned to good health. What she hadn’t counted on was the in-between place.

The surgery was a success, but shortly afterward she contracted a staph infection in the incision. It nearly killed her. For more than five months she lived in a nursing home, on IV antibiotics and a wound vac. She became a shadow of the woman who had gone into surgery months before. But finally, she fought off the infection. Things were looking up.

Tragically, the day before she was to be released, her husband died. In the middle of the night, my husband and I raced up the freeway. Mom needed us. We found her in the hallway, hunched over in a wheelchair, a frail vapid remnant of the woman I’d known.

The days to follow were not typical for our family. We were familiar with death and funerals, but we didn’t know what to do with Mom. Her four children lived far from her home and she needed help. In the end, it was decided that the best place for her was here in Oregon, close to me. So we sold many of her things, packed up the rest, and moved Mom an assisted living center in Roseburg, Oregon. It was a painful transition, but Mom rallied and was her old self—hopeful and full of thankfulness.

My life changed. I oversaw Mom’s finances, housing, medical care, and many of her emotional needs. I’d become the mother. Though the circumstances were difficult, life shared with Mom was also full of blessings. I became acquainted with my mother in ways I never had before. Each day, my admiration for her grew. She was and is a woman of grace and gratitude. Every time I saw her she made sure to tell me how much she loved me. She’d take my face in her hands, smile up at me, tell me how much she loves me and thank me for taking such good care of her. It’s an amazing gift to be deeply loved.

Four years have passed and Mom’s health is failing. She’s extremely frail, can’t walk, and has dementia, which makes it difficult for her to hang onto who she is, who her family is. I’m waiting for the day when I walk in and she doesn’t recognize me. It will happen, just not yet.

Sometimes Mom asks me why I think she’s still living. She can’t see any good reason to be hanging around. She’s lost sight of her own value. She doesn’t realize that the love she extends to those around her is priceless. Even in her present condition she is always kind. She lives with a good deal of pain and is completely dependent on others, but is still grateful for her life and appreciates the smallest pleasures. And still, on most visits, she gives me a bright smile and tells me how much she loves me. 

Mom’s life is still precious and is as valuable as it ever was. Until the Lord takes her home she will serve Him simply by the way she lives. Getting old is really hard, but it doesn’t devalue who we are. We shall remain treasures even to the end. May we never forget that about ourselves and those who watch over us.

~*~
Author bio:  

Bonnie Leon is the author of twenty-one novels, including the recently released To Dance With Dolphins, the popular Alaskan Skies and bestselling The Journey of Eleven Moons.

Bonnie’s books are being read internationally and she hears from readers in Australia, Europe, and even Africa.

She enjoys speaking to women’s groups and teaching at writing seminars and conventions. She especially delights in mentoring young authors. These days, her time is filled with writing, being a grandmother and relishing precious time with her aged mother.

Bonnie and her husband, Greg, live in Southern Oregon. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

~*~

Connect with Bonnie:
Website - https://www.bonnieleon.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BonnieLeonAuthor
Blog - https://www.bonnieleon.blogspot.com
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/bonnieleon/ 

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear MOMs of the WORLD,

God loves your dear heart! 

Keep shining your light of love, providing, blessing and protecting your children.

They are BLESSED to have a GOOD MOM like you!

Love,

Alexis

A Message for MOMs: