Image by Andrelyn
Church this past weekend was wonderful with their Mother's Day special. While I'm not considered an official mother, I still have two fur babies at home, my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They are forever like children no matter how old they are even in dog years. On the stage, they had a panel of two pastor couples (Pastor Josh and his wife, Pastor Stu and his wife) on stage speaking their individual points of view and blending them together beautifully in grounding their words in scripture.
Some of the things the wives mentioned really sunk in and made me reflect immediately in my life.
"I'm only as happy as my saddest kid."
This helped me to realize that I have held too high of expectations for my mother and our relationship. Despite our differences, we keep trying to stay bonded. One of those things holding me back is the expectation that I should be able to say everything that is considered to be bad, and it should be accepted without having to guilt me for it. But given our recent talks about climate change, she cannot handle all the sad news. Then we moved onto another topic of politics, there's much more shocking and unwelcome news there. Then we talked about other things, and it was just one dreadful thing after another. I can empathize with her on how overwhelmed she feels with all that bad news. It saddens her and gives her the impression that I'm incredibly sad about it as well. It made me realize that my expectations were too high and that another thing to help us that I can take charge of is helping her focus on the positive for both of our sakes even though for me, it's not an issue to handle personally. So, it's begun this week and is slowly picking up much more positive results. For our relationship, I'll continue to show her how these terrible situations do not sadden me and in fact, made me stronger because I've seen her go through some of them too. To me, that's a win-win that is not only positive but a compliment that makes a lasting impression. Talk about taking church literally and using the lessons to learn from.
There were so many wonderful things mentioned, but there's the other one I can relate to that is shown in the picture above:
"Take the wisdom around you and use it."
When one of the wives mentioned this, she was advising everyone to use other moms as wisdom as well, or parents in general. Each parent mentioned how insecurity can creep in at times. If you find yourself at a park, don't compare your parenting to another to bring you down and beat yourself up. Instead, turn it around and use it as a lesson for improvement. Your partner chose you to be the best parent for the child the two of you share. Be grateful for that opportunity rather than focusing on a negative that can be meaningless. As Pastor Josh mentioned, "Your child is your report card," not other people when it comes to the children's happiness.
Here's another takeaway from this quote:
I feel like another way that is the best opportunity for me to do this is with books. Lately, I've been trying to surround myself with books as they are inspirational and motivational without having to open them. Then there's the wisdom that pours out of every filled page that provides additional inspiration. What better place to apply this quote! Books go with everything. There's no end to their correspondence and there are so many ways to apply the information.
Wisdom is something that is highly cherished and respected although, throughout history, people's actions have shown otherwise. Scholars of the highest stature in their fields are looked up to for their knowledge because everyone looks to them as a bar to reach or a level to achieve. For some, it takes a small amount of time and for others it takes a lifetime. However long it takes, it's doable for anyone. I believe that people can limit this and make things go in other directions that they're not supposed to. People in history have been quick to turn on scholars as well to accuse them of absurdities and craziness for concepts that they do not understand. Geniuses have gone through such horrible experiences, and some are not recognized for their acquired smarts until after death. Why is it that humans do these kinds of things? It's sad, but overall, there's still respect for those who do get the wisdom and apply it in the correct manner.
Another quote comes to mind: "Don't hate, appreciate."
Some of the younger folks may not know this one yet as it's considered to be old-school. lol But the point is to celebrate another one's intellect. Use that wisdom for something that may benefit you or someone you know too. We can all learn something new. The good news is that there's no cap on learning. There isn't a maximum or an unbreakable ceiling. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new, gain more wisdom, and use it for good. Here's your challenge: take a step back and you try it too.
If the quotes from the sermon interest you, feel free to stop by and join us.
Bethany Baptist Church in Puyallup, WA
All are welcome on Saturday evenings at 6:00pm or Sunday mornings starting at 9am or 10:30am.
We're also online too!
https://www.bethanysite.com/
Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!
Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.
Don’t forget! No matter what, you can always shine on.
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