This last week, I had a dream. In this dream I was with all my family! How happy I was and glad to be among them! I love and cherish all of you so much and miss not being with you!
The dream went on and I saw an open book, Hebrew’s 14:11 was written there. I remember waking up thinking “ there is no Hebrew’s 14”! So I looked up Hebrew’s 11:14, I wrote it here with a couple extra verses:
“ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14) People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15) If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16) Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them!” NKJ
Does God’s word ever challenge you like it does me? Have you read Hebrews 11? If you haven’t, I pray that you will! If you have, did you ask yourself; how these people stood in the place of faith that they did? I have, I ask myself “ did God just make them different or can we all who believe stand in that place and withstand what they did?
While reading a very interesting book, I read this: “We are not members of a religion but Citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom, it resides in us and we take it where ever we go. It has the power to change where ever we are and whom ever we are with. “
I liked this, I know that it is our purpose and our Royal position, as Son’s & Daughters of the king (John 1: 12, Galatians 3:26, Romans 8:14)), to lead others to a right knowledge of His kingdom (Matt. 28: 19 “ therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you ..! )
I just read an article online, interviewing children about who their mothers are to them and what they do for them!
The answers of course were adorable and very entertaining! “ My mother is suppose to kiss me when ever I feel bad about myself!” one little boy said. Don’t you just love that, I do!
There were many answerers but not one that stated, “ my mother is suppose to introduced me to my Savior & King!”
One Mother’s Day about 6 or 7 years ago, when all our children and grandchildren attended church with us!
Our Pastor gave a wonderful sermon on “ What makes a Mother “ his verbal description included unlimited quantities of mercy, love and kindness!
I remember smiling to myself as I caught the eye of my grown children sitting about the sanctuary, envisioning the mother they had grown up with!
My purpose as a mother, after I received Christ as my Savior, has always been to make sure that my children would never wonder who Christ was ( like I did for 23 years) and always know that they were Citizens and Heirs of His kingdom and never doubt it! I desired for them to have an opportunity to serve their king and His kingdom, young!
They were to be tough and not fear, so that when it came for them to stand and not fall, they would! “Buck up, you are not truly hurt” was a common statement heard at our home!
My children would see themselves as Royalty in the strictest since, being as Christ, although being a king He humbled himself, serving mankind on to death that all might have life everlasting.
“ What did “you” do?” they would hear when ever faced with childhood conflicts. I would always challenge them to see their part in what was happening!
Doing my best to remove from their path any stumbling block of confusion, they heard God’s Word spoken frequently, so much so that at times, “please mom, no more!” were words I came to know, not that they deterred me!
From the time our youngest birth son, was 8 until all our grown children were married with children of their own, we did foster care, over 150 children who needed temporary care & a home came and went.
Thankfully as our family grew, so did I and some of my tactics took on a softer feel but my purpose never changed! It was not always a calm & comfortable home and many times I forgot that it is God’s mercy that leads us to repentance!
Needless to say, the looks I received back from my children that day were ones of humor and Knowing!
Later as we gathered for our Sunday Family Prayer ( something I truly miss but knew then, was a limited time gift) I expressed my thoughts to them and apologized for being the “Warrior Mother” instead of the soft Cuddly one! What could they say, they forgave me!
Right about now you are wondering where I am going with all of this! Well, I am hoping that this is more than just a confession that my methods have not always been the right ones!
The encouragement I am trying to convey is this, even though, obviously, we want to establish a motherhood of love & mercy with our children, let us not forget that we are building a structure here that can not be moved! An architectural “Masterpiece” in this instance, built on the Rock of our Salvation!
We can never start to early or to late, building a Motherhood that characterizes our children’s rightful Identity & Citizenship and points them toward their true home & country! Like the men and women of Hebrews 11:14, God has prepared a city for all of us.
We have our 2 youngest daughters with us here in Kenya! The eldest has often said to me “ Mom, am I different?” Yes! Troyanna, you are different, Praise God! This family has always been different, Peculiar I hope!
Psalms 90:1 “ LORD, through all the generations you have been our home.”
Have a Blessed Mother’s Day!
Loving the Father! Phyllis Leister
