Mama, Daddy, and My Sweetheart

Well it's been forever since I've taken the time to write. I totally intended to have a special post for both Mother's Day and Father's Day, but once again the battle with chronic pain has slowed me way down. Where we come from can be a blessing, a crutch, or an excuse for our behavior. I have to say my past and present are filled with three very special people who continually help to shape my life.
Mama and Daddy...two words that just in the saying of them hold so much love and emotion that I could stop there and feel like I've said it all. Mama has to be one of the most patient and Godly women I've ever known. She's raised four faithful children, taught us how to pray and see God in both the little and big things, not to mention her creativity in keeping three very busy sets of hands occupied while also dealing with an infant. Contests were held and (as I remember) encouraged to see who could stand on their head the longest in the corner, who could jump up and down the longest, who could jump rope the longest,ect. Mama seemed to always be able to find a way to keep us busy;and bless her heart, when we found ways to keep ourselves busy (many wonderful adventures that led to trouble :) )she got her switch out and used it. We are who we are today because of her love for us and our friends. Mama always seemed to love whoever we loved. I'm so thankful for that, we could bring friends home and she loved them just as she loved us.
Daddy spent a lot of my childhood on the road,but always found a way to celebrate the special things that he missed when he got home. Special trips for icecream or a special date just with him to a nice "grown up" restraunt, not to mention trips to get coffee and the opprotunity to plan out your future on a Waffle House napkin. He rarely gives himself enough credit in his walk with Christ and the example he put before us. He struggles, as we all do, with his own set of temptations, but watching him struggle and continue to try has been a lesson all in itself. Daddy has never tried to present himself as perfect and for that reason I have seen that the Christian walk is not an easy one but one that is begun anew each day. There's comfort in seeing him with his open Bible on the arm of his chair, to listen of him talk of King David, and his encouragement to my baby to study the Proverbs to find wisdom. I am blessed!
God sent me my sweetheart the summer I turned 14. He's joked over the years that if you want a good wife, you raise her the way you want her. Well, I can't say I've always been the most cooperative student, but I do know that we've grown up in the Lord together. We faught all the temptations that all teens fight when your dating and IN LOVE. We helped each other overcome the heartaches and disappointments that come with growing up, and his steady as you go attitude has often been my anchor in the storms of life. His encouragement to hang in there and to find the answers both spiritually and physically have been amongst God's greatest gifts. I could also spend forever talking about the wonderful daddy he is. His tender heart, yet firm voice tell my baby how much he's loved and just as much how he is expected to behave.
I have been blessed with Mama, Daddy and a husband who in their own ways have shown me the love of my heavenly father. I never doubted God loves me. I've always been surrounded by love. What an important job we have as parents! We are our children's first look at the love of God!
There's so much more I could say about all three of these special people. Their example as we moved through the loss of my sister and cousin is still a wonder. There is no fear in death, but a deep desire for heaven. Each one of them has played such a special part in that! As we live with the sorrow of our personal loss, because of the influence of Mama, Daddy, and my sweetheart; I continue living this life with a joy that is eternal and a hope that is everlasting. Truly I am blessed!!