Even
though my mom’s birthday isn’t for a few more days, I wanted to write some words
about her now that I hope will encourage and bless her (an early birthday present,
if you will). To begin, you all know how
much my mom, Rose Mary Bauer, has been through this year. She has endured so much pain, loss, and heartache. I’ve often said that the pain of my
dad’s passing impacted so many people, but Mom was impacted the most, because
of their strong love and bond. And yet I
can emphatically declare that Mom has grown considerably. She often says that she may look the same as
she did back in July, but she isn’t the same person. I wholeheartedly agree.
For
instance, while she was a devoted Christian before Dad’s homecoming to Heaven,
she has become more Christ-like, compassionate, mature, and consecrated to
God. Take her prayer life now, for an example. If you want an illustration of someone who
lives out the verse “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), it is
her. She prays morning, afternoon, and
evening. Often I’ve noticed how she will
just start praying (out loud). All of the sudden, she will just thank God
for His help, His mercy, His blessings, whatever is on her heart at that
moment. It’s quite amazing to behold!
I
don’t want you to misunderstand me. Her
growth isn’t because she is some sort of a super-saint. No, she knows that she can’t live a day, or a
minute, without God. I love 2
Corinthians 3:5, and I think it captures Mom perfectly. It reads, “Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is
from God” (NKJV). She doesn’t go around
boasting of her strength, sufficiency, and competence. She is quick to give God the glory for
anything good, because she knows that ultimately it’s not because of her; it’s
because of God.
Not
only has she matured spiritually, she has grown in other areas of her life as
well. I could give several examples here, but
let me bring up finding her way from point A to point B. If you knew my dad, he was your GPS. He was the one who gave you the directions to
get you where you needed to go. So what
do you do when your GPS unexpectedly goes to Heaven? You struggle and you get lost. Knowing how to get from one destination to
another was never in her giftedness.
Just ask her and she would agree; I’m not putting words in her
mouth. But you should hear how
proficiently she speaks of getting to where she needs to go now. I marvel at this.
In
conclusion, I don’t think Mom knows just how incredibly proud I am of her. And I know that my dad would be incredibly
proud of her as well. In my last blog, I
referenced a popular song by Matt Redman.
More specifically, that song is “Blessed Be Your Name.” Today, I want to dedicate that song to her. I can’t think of a more fitting song to present to her as a birthday gift. Even in the midst of the most gut-wrenching, crushing, visceral, heartbreaking pain of her life, my mom has still chosen to say,
through tears, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
Kevin
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