10/2/2014

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday.  She is 5000 miles away, in a country I've never been to, seeing sights I've never seen, and, to add a few more tears to my pity pot, she is turning 20, so it is a monumental "decade" birthday!  My thoughts travel instantly back to that early morning so many years ago when I first held the child of my old age in my arms.  "It's a girl," the doctor announced...my whole world changed in that instant and how precious she has been to my life! 

As an "after cancer" child, she gave me a reason to forget about death and simply live again.  As a "last" child, she gave me a reason to stay young.  As the "youngest sibling," she was spoiled a little too much by all of us.  As an "older" mother, many of the filters I had with my first two children disappeared, and our relationship had the luxury of being built on a little wiser foundation. 

Though I will not get to hug her, give her a birthday gift, or eat cake with her today, I know our hearts are joined in a special way that time or distance can never change.  What an awesome God to create a thing called "love"...such a short little word filled with more power and passion than can be imagined, given to us by a Creator who is the very definition of the word.

So fly high, my little lump, and enjoy the beauty of God's glorious world today!  We will give hugs and gifts and will share cake as you tell me of your life-changing adventures another day when we have hours just to enjoy the simple pleasure of just being together!  Love you to the moon and back...happy, happy birthday!

 

Roberta Pledge

10/2/2014

God's "Immeasurably More"

I delight in finding God's "immeasurably more."  Though it is easy to let these occasions slip through the cracks as coincidence, there are events that come to memory that are simply more than I could ever ask for or imagine.  "With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20, NCV), speaks volumes about how God works in and through lives.  

Though God's "immeasurably more" occasionally comes unannounced, it is often a result of me doing my part to make things happen.  Instead of accepting a "no" answer, I push further.  Instead of stepping out of the way, I insist God's way is better.  Instead of walking the path of least resistance, I trudge forward through a path that will be met with opposition.  Sometimes to receive God's "immeasurably more," I must do "more" myself. 

When "God's will" meets "my faith" the train starts rolling.  When I allow my actions to move past what I actually think is logical, into the realms of possible and point others in God's direction, "immeasurably more" may be seen in the distance.  When I  take a chance and say or do something beyond my comfort level, press further than I  would normally go for the good of others, according to God's will, the final results can be an "immeasurably more" event. 

Never forget that you are God's earthly hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouths.  Reach out, step out, speak up, move past your comfort level, and let God use your actions for His blessings.

 

Roberta Pledge

8/28/14

LETTING GO

She will leave.  A few more days, Lord willing, will pass and she will leave me.  She will get on a huge plane and travel across an ocean I have never traveled across and see sights I have never seen.  She will live for months in a world I have never known.

Letting a child go is never easy for a parent.  Whether they are going next door to spend the night for the first time, leaving for a week away at camp, or going away to college, watching them walk away with that packed bag is like feeling a part of our heart leave our inner soul.  Yet, we let them go.  We open the cocoon and set them free when we feel they are ready, or know it is time for their wings to spread. We pray for guidance and let them make choices, but not easily or willingly, for we know the distance and separation will often bring sadness, tears, and fears into our life.

How did God do it?  As our Father, how did He set us free and allow us to be creatures of free choice, knowing He would lose so many of us to the world and its temptations? How did He, the One who could have arranged this world any way He pleased, extend to humans the blessing of being made in His image and create us with a mind to make a choice to leave Him?

We are given the answer in three short words, "God is love" (John 4:8).  These simple words speak volumes about why our Heavenly Father sets us free and why, in turn, we, as loving parents, must be willing, able, and ready to set our children free to experience life on life's terms and make their own decisions.  It is quite simply, though not the easy thing to do, the loving thing to do.

So I will take her to the airport and put her on a plane that will allow her to follow her dreams, knowing she will come back to me a different person.  The comforting thing I know without a doubt, every step of the way, is that she will most certainly come back to me.  As long as it is humanly possible, she will return.  The beautiful thing about love is that it works both ways and, when given to a receiving heart, it always returns. 

Roberta Pledge

(8/10/14)