From One Mother to Another

It's the Sunday before Easter, AKA Resurrection Day. Good Friday is five days away. It's a day when a lot of churches celebrate Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the donkey amidst the shouts of "Hosanna!"

But, today I have something different on my mind...someone different, actually. I've been thinking about Jesus's mother, Mary and the crucifixion. I read somewhere that Golgotha, the place of a skull, actually does look like a human head. The writer said she was there, and the top of the cliff had two natural caves and looked like just what it said, a skull. She also said it overlooked what used to be the Eastern gate in to the old city of Jerusalem. Now, I've never been, so I don't know what the place looks like, but thinking of it this way put a new perspective on things for me. The writer quoted John 19, so I went and read the chapter and began to see things in a new light. I'm not going to copy and paste the entire chapter; you can read it for yourselves, but take note of Pontius Pilate. Can't you just hear him thinking, "Them pesky Jews! Sure wish I didn't have to deal with all their silly notions!"

Kind of makes me wonder if, under other circumstances, he might have believed on Jesus. But, I got sidetracked. Wasn't going that direction. :)

Anyway, here's the verses that stood out, when I read chapter 19. "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." John 19:25-27 KJV.

Since I am a storyteller, bare with me for a few minutes.

Picture this:
It's hot. The sun is beating down on your head. It's also noisy. People are everywhere, and they are not quiet. Your feet are killing you. After all, you just walked up the hillside. But, the pain in your feet is nothing compared to the pain in your heart. The religious leaders you have counted on all your life have just ordered your son to be crucified. Men who were supposed to be honorable in battle have beaten him, whipped him until he is almost unrecognizable. The stench of sweat and blood permeate the air so that you can't even take a breath without it filling your nostrils. When they drove those spikes in to your firstborn's hands and feet, you felt them, too. You wanted to scream for them to stop. You wanted to grab up a spike and kill them all. You wanted to hold your son like you did when he was a tiny baby, and yet, you can't forget the many times he told you he was about his father's business. You didn't always understand what that meant, and you don't understand now, but just remembering the peace in his eyes when he said that, keeps you silent.

Your sister is there by your side, arm around your waist holding you up. Mary Magdalene is there, too, and in some weird way, you feel more sorry for her than for yourself. You wrap an arm around the younger woman's shoulders, but you have no words of comfort. All you can offer her is your embrace. She leans on you and all three of you cry together.

John is standing a couple of feet away. He hasn't left your son's side the whole time. You love him for that. You wish you could tell him so.

Then, you wipe a hand across your eyes and look up in to the eyes of your baby boy. He isn't a baby anymore, of course, but you still think of him that way. He looks at you, and then he looks at John.

"Woman," he says, "behold thy son!"

You follow his gaze to John, and then you hear his next words.

"John, behold thy mother."

You want to tell him there is no need for this, but you can't speak, because the effort of holding back your sobs is too great.

Jesus says he is thirsty, and they give him vinegar. You can smell it from where you are standing, and you can't help but cringe at how it must have burned his mouth and throat.

And then, you heard the words you so desperately did not want to hear, "It is finished."

Jesus bows his head, and you know it's over; he is dead. You would have fallen to your knees, if John and your sister hadn't held on to you, and you can no longer hold back the sobs.

A soldier pushes you out of the way, then, and starts breaking the legs of the other men who were crucified, but when they came to your son, they saw he was already dead, so they just plunged a sword in to his side.

Then, as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came and began to remove his body, you felt a tug at your elbow. You turn, and there is John, tears streaming down his face.

"Come along, Mother," he is saying, but you do not want to leave.

Somehow, walking away feels like betrayal. But, he is insistent.

"Let the men tend to him," John says. "The sabbath will begins shortly. When the sabbath is over, we will bring spices and anoint him properly."

Knowing he is right, you allow him to take you to his home, but it feels like your heart is being ripped from your chest. You're just not sure you will make it through the sabbath, not with your reason for living now dead and gone.

Aren't you glad, moms that there is hope beyond the grave? Aren't you glad you know the ending, here? I don't know about you, but I wish I could have been there three days later, so I could have shared in Mary's joy at seeing her son risen from the dead. What a hallelujah morning that must have been! And, what a hallelujah morning it's going to be when all the dead in Christ rise to meet Him in the air!

I don't know why God put this on my heart to share, but I pray it blesses you and causes you to ponder a bit more on Him and what a sacrifice He made for us all. God bless, and happy Palm Sunday!

Are You Happy?

What does it mean to be happy? Does it mean having everything you ever wanted? Does it mean being with that special someone? Does it mean having everything to suit you? What about everything going the way you want it too, is that being happy?

Now, y'all should know me better than to think any of the above are true. Of course, being with the man or woman we love is happiness, or it can be. ;) Having things we like can make us happy. We would all agree that a day where everything goes our way feels good. We all like to be entertained, and certainly a good story or funny joke can bring a smile to our faces, but are these things what make us happy?

I heard someone in a Sunday School class say once, "Well, I think God wants us to be happy."

The teacher of the class ignored the woman, which in my opinion was a mistake. But, maybe the answer strikes a little too close to home for us to be able to talk about it, comfortably.

This morning, I was listening to some music, and all of a sudden, I felt this overwhelming joy. Chills ran over me and I smiled for no apparent reason. I thought, "Oh, Lord, I am so happy!" And I am. But, why am I?

Is it the place where I live? Um, no. I live in a house that is too small. The town i live in is so rural, I can't afford even a cab to go to the Walmart. I have to rely on others to go anywhere, unless it is the Post Office the doctor or the playground. Is it my family that brings me happiness? Well, yeah, sometimes they do, but being a stay-at-home mom of 2 can be challenging and hard, sometimes. I don't always feel like laughing. And, yet, I am still happy.

I think that sometimes, folks have trouble being happy, because they have a mixed up view of what happy really is. I think we remember how it was in our school days, and think, "Gee, since I'm not as physically well or have as many friends as I did back then, I'm not happy."

But, true happiness does not come from without, it comes from within. Now, all you fundamental Christians calm down a minute. :) Let me explain. If the true source of joy, happiness, peace and love is living in your heart, then it will be within you and come out of you.

All these kids shows on TV tell you to trust your heart, and believe in yourself. I know they mean well, but folks, there is nothing within us that can give us anything. Jesus says that we are the branches, He is the true vine and God is the husbandman, or the carer of the vineyard. If I'm a branch, then it's safe to say that I can't nourish myself. Do you see branches living after you pick them? Of course not. When you pick a leaf off a tree or a flower from a plant, it always dies, doesn't it. That's how we are when we are not living in the vine, Jesus Christ. We whither and die. But, if we stay connected to the vine, we receive the nourishment that we need and we live. Just in case there is some misunderstanding, I'm talking spiritually, here, not physically.

Jesus lived a perfect life. He did no wrong. Yet, He lived in a sinful world. He got hungry. He got tired. He probably got a splinter, seeing as how His stepfather was a carpenter. He had siblings. If He wanted to go somewhere, He had to deal with crowds of people. He knows what it's like to pay taxes. I'm sure He knows how it feels to have annoying family members, too. :) He knows how I feel. He knows how you feel. And, He cares. He loves us so much that He gave up His life for us. Go read it in John, if you don't believe me. I think it's safe to say, we can trust Him with our hearts, homes, lives, children, spouses, finances, health, in-laws, weight difficulties, and everything else in between.

A few years ago, I was volunteering at an assisted care living facility owned by some friends of mine. I was in the kitchen, and they had those baby monitors, so you could hear what went on in the rooms, and the monitors were turned up real loud in the kitchen. I couldn't help but over hear, one day, as one of the owners went in to a patient's room and started singing at the top of his voice.

"Where do all these happy people come from? Where do all these happy people come from? They come from Jesus!"

The poor patient was unable to speak, but you could hear their grunt, as if to say, "Bah humbug!" :)

But, that did not deter the man's enthusiasm for sharing God's love. And, turns out, he's right. Happiness, the lasting kind can only come from Jesus. Hands down, no other answer for being happy; just Jesus. Why, just saying His name brings me peace.

Y'all have a happy Friday, and a wonderful weekend. If you get lonely, read St. John, or any part of the Bible you wish. Need an uplift, remember I'm praying for you all, whoever you are. All I gotta say is, "God, please bless those who read this blog." He'll do it, too. He is faithful, don't forget.

A Book Review, How I Became A Christian, and anything else I can think of

Well, mornin' y'all! It's that day again, Saturday, the day it seems I always blog on. It just seems easier to do it on a Saturday for some strange reason. Terry's sleeping, the girls are watching tv and probably hoping I'll fix them something to eat soon, and I'm blogging and waiting for the washer to get finished. Now, you English teachers, don't go in to fits; I know that sentence was way too long, but I can't help myself.

Looking back on this past week, I know I was busy, but I'm just not sure with what. lol My mom came over yesterday and fixed us egg sandwiches for breakfast. My mamaw came over Thursday to visit for a while. We had church Wednesday night and practiced singing for the revival we're scheduled to go sing at. Everyone else sang real nice, but I kept making mistakes. I guess it's a good thing I can practice at home, huh. Anyway, the girls and I were going to go to the ladies' group meeting and lunchen on Tuesday, but our driver got sick, so we had to miss. Oh yeah, almost forgot, I ordered a new braille watch Monday evening and got it Wednesday. It's a seiko, and I really like it. I think it's one of the nicest braille watches I've ever had, in fact. Usually, the braille watches from those magazines like Maxi Aids are ok, but really cheaply made, and I want a watch that doesn't look like a braille one. Also, I want something that looks nice, no matter how I dress. I think this time, I've found it.

Read a new book last week that I want to tell y'all about. It's "Journey of Faith" by Katie McCurdy. The author is sixteen, and this is her first book. It's published by Outskirts Press, and you can find it on
www.amazon.com

Katie emailed me a few weeks ago, after seeing my book on Amazon. She and I have exchanged books for reviews. I have reviewed her's and below I will post that review. She is now reading "Wild Heart" and promises a review, soon. So, here's what I had to say about her book.

"Journey of Faith" is a wonderful story richly based on Christian values and Godly principals. Told in a fashion similar to the Little House Books, the author takes the reader to a time and place far removed from today's selfish society and illustrates through example how one can simply follow the teachings of Christ. This book is mostly light-hearted and seemingly carefree, but McCurdy will surprise you with twists and turns that you will not expect. Filled with family devotions, an Indian attack, horseback riding, and a ruthless band of outlaws, Journey of Faith is sure to delight readers of all ages. An excellent family read."

As I read the 296 page book, I found myself smiling; she writes a lot like I did at that age. Even her bad guys talk like a bunch of hicks, as mine do. Katie says she's working on more, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I can tell by reading Katie's book that she's young, but she is a good writer and with age will come experience, and with experience will come maturity. So, if you're looking for a book to be a good influence on someone, teenager or not, you can't go wrong with "Journey of Faith". It's packed full of Bible lessons that would do us all good to remember.

Well, tomorrow is the picnic. Every year in May, the WV Advent Christian Conference has a Sunday School picnic for all the Advent Christian churches in the state. They have it out at Camp Whitney, a church camp owned by the WV Advent Christian Conference. The camp is located in Clindenin, WV, and it's a pretty neet place. I went to camp there as a teenager and dearly loved it. It seemed I would look forward to camp every year, and cry when it was over. I learned so many valuable lessons out there, and when I was only 13, I gave my life to Jesus out there. I'll never forget it, either.

I had had a rough year in school; I had just finished the 7th grade and was really down. I had went to camp and that Monday night, a group of singers, Christian teens who called themselves, New light and Power, had come to sing. My cousin came to me and asked if I wanted to go up and pray. I didn't answer her at first, but a voice inside my head asked, "What do you have to lose?"

Knowing I had nothing to lose, I went to that old altar, knelt down, and amid all the caring friends around me, gave my heart to Jesus. I will never forget how I felt when I knew I had been forgiven. Oh, my friend, it was the best thing that ever happened to me! I felt so clean, so humbled, so awed at the presence of God, filling my heart and making me want to sing! I stood up from that altar, and honestly, I've never felt quite like that again, although I have come close.

Now, don't be so quick to scawf. Don't be so quick to judge. After all, I'm not that little 13 year old girl telling this; I'm a 30 year old woman with a husband and 2 kids. I'm not near as idealistic as I used to be. In fact, there's been a lot to happen in my life that has made reality come crashing down around my ears. I have had friends to die too young, friends, who weren't friends at all to leave me because of my disability. I lost all my vision in 2000, not long after I got married. I've given birth to 2 girls and have been changing diapers and wiping noses for 3-1/2 years. I've moved away and moved back home. I've been disallusioned, laughed at, ignored, and I've been told I'm way too old-fashioned. But, I still remember how I felt the moment I became a Christian! And, even though there have been times in my life that I have ignored God and His Holy Spirit, I have never felt alone, not really. I've felt lonely, when there was no actual person to talk to, but God has never left me. He promised He wouldn't, and He has kept that promise. You can't tell me it isn't real! I know it is! To quote a Christian song from the 1990's,

"I know there's a God who knows my name, and a Son who died to take the blame.
I believe Jesus is coming back, cause a promise is a promise and facts are facts."

Still scawfing? Well, what do you have to lose? Would it be so bad to let someone help you carry that heavy load? Would it be so bad to let God, your creator help you through this difficult time? Would it be so bad to have someone to listen at 3 AM? And finally, would it be so terrible to admit you need Him? He loves you! He made you, didn't he?

Well, to end this post...the girls are getting hungry and so am I...let me just say, I'd love to hear from you. Also, thanks to those followers who read this blog. Take care and have a good weekend. Once again, my email address is
ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net