Category Archives: Being a Daughter

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A New Creation

During this past two months we have been blessed with two new creations! One little boy, Caleb Benjamin,  and in just this past two weeks, a little girl, Adella Kathleen. I have flown to Washington State to be with this precious little girl and her three brothers.  One of the joys of Nanahood!

I’ve noticed that one of the first things we do when a new baby is born is compare that child to a family member. “Who does she look like?” “He has his daddy’s smile!” The comparisons seem never-ending , and in fact they are.

I am 60 years old. People STILL tell me how much I look like my mother! It started as soon as I was born – so I am told  – (unlike our son, I don’t remember my actual birth – he claims he does) and continues, to this day. Once in my life someone told me I looked like my father. I politely asked this individual if they had ever met my mother – they had not.

As soon as our first daughter was born, Phil called my mother and announced “Now there are three of you.” Bless their hearts, two of our daughters live with the stigma of favoring their mother in appearance. A friend of mine asked my mother one day if any of our daughters reminded her of me. Without hesitation she replied “Oh, no. They are much prettier than Gayle ever was.” (Some of you are feeling horror at this moment – don’t  – Mother was right)

The fact remains that it is in our nature to compare children and their appearance to relatives we feel they favor, sometimes even ancient ancestors. “Great-great Uncle Reuben had ears just like those!”  These innocent little babies are tagged from the start. Yet to be fair there are certainly family characteristics that are in our DNA . My parents moved near us following  7 years of living in Taiwan. After hearing my mother speak,  people in stores and businesses would ask her if she knew Gayle Woody – our voices sound that similar.

I love the verses in  2 Corinthians 5:17-20  – New Living Translation (NLT)

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Just as each baby born is a new creation with a unique DNA, when we become Christians, we become new creations as well. “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

We look at these new-born children and think of the great potential each has. Our heavenly Father looks at us and does the same thing! What a blessing to know God as Father. As loving parents, we make every effort possible to help our children to reach their full potential. God does that with us well. God has given us the Holy Spirit to equip us to be His hands and feet wherever we are. Just as our family has hopes and dreams for Caleb and Adella, God has those hopes and dreams for us who are His children. We are so blessed to be part of God’s family.

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Dreams

 

This past week, Phil and I attended a promotion assembly at our oldest granddaughter’s school. She has completed 1st grade and was promoted to 2nd grade. Two things stood out to me in particular at the assembly. First, the ethnic/racial mix of the students and therefore the audience of family members was very diverse. The names that were called out reflected this diversity as well. I was so pleased to see this variety –  this is the real world in which our grandchildren are growing up. The various children our granddaughter has as classmates and friends will allow her to appreciate and know from an early age that as humans, we have much more in common than the differences of our hair texture, skin color, or the shape of our eyes. “Red, brown, yellow, black, and white , they’re ALL precious in His sight…..” All children have the potential to dream. 

The second thing that blessed me was the song all five classes of 1st Graders sang together. It was called “Dreams” and the words the children sang told about the dreams each of them had for their futures. Their lives lay ahead of them and there is so much they dream of doing. Having bright hopes for the future is an important part of healthy child development. Wanting to be a fireman, nurse, or a cowboy gives a child a vision for their future and it also makes going to school purposeful. (Does anyone know what degree a cowgirl needs?) If a child has no dreams for their future, they will not have hope.

Each milestone a child reaches is worthy of celebration. I was pleased that this promotion to 2nd grade was low-key – just a song and calling out each child’s name. Yet it says to the child – “you have completed something and we are proud of you.” Their dreams may seem unrealistic or even silly at this stage in their lives, yet those dreams give children a hope for their future. I can tell when one of my high school students has no dream for their future – they are apathetic, disengaged, and unhappy.

Phil and I went on a hike Saturday with dear friends to Pinnacle Peak. This is a strenuous trail that climbs steeply up to the peak and the reward is a spectacular view of the county in which we live. While hiking our friends mentioned that their son has told their five-year old grandson that when he is 16, his dad will take him on a hike to a mountain peak in Yosemite National Park. Their grandson talks about this and is looking forward to this “milestone”. It struck me how wonderful this dream is for this little boy! He is looking forward to doing something that is very special, it involves his dad, it is “healthy” on several levels, and it is something that he will always see as a significant accomplishment.

God has dreams for us as well –

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 Psalm 40:5 (NIV)

5 Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

The dreams God has for our children and grandchildren are beyond compare. It will be a wonderful challenge to seek God’s direction and allow God to use us in fulfilling HIS dreams in these precious children’s lives.

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Church

 

I ran into a dear, old acquaintance this week – old in the sense I have known her for over 40 years, and also old in that she is elderly. I’ll refer to her respectfully as Mrs. “J”. Her husband, now deceased, invited me many years ago to sing in the choir at their church. The end result was that I met my husband, Phil, there. Being the shy person that I am, I introduced myself to Phil ( he had already noticed me though, because he knew my name) and that began what has been my most treasured human relationship. Church is a wonderful place to meet one’s spouse!

Talking to Mrs. “J” again was a chance to recall some precious memories. We mentioned the fact that I sang in the choir under her husband’s direction. I also led the Youth Choir for a year and one of her sons played the piano and three other of her children sang in the choir. During that time I learned many of the old gospel songs that still mean so much to me. I reminded her how blessed I was by her mother-in-law who was in her 80’s and always sat in the front pew. Mrs. “J” Sr. was the widow of the former pastor and I always wondered if she had always been in the front row to support her husband when he preached  – then just stayed there after he passed on “home”. She would get very excited whenever a song about heaven was sung, raising her hand and often even shouting her love for God. This godly saint longed to be in the presence of her Lord Jesus.

As we talked,  Mrs. “J” ‘s countenance became sad, and she asked me if I had heard about the changes in her church. I had, and like so many of us, she had experienced a split in her church that hurt her and members of her family to the core.  Phil and I have experienced a splintering of a fellowship and we have said that it was a hurt and betrayal of commitment that felt to us in some ways as a divorce must feel. I heard a Bible teacher once say that the Christian Army is the only one that shoots its wounded. We Christians have a tragic, yet well deserved reputation for lack of unity. This is a sad commentary to the world around us on Jesus being the Prince of Peace.

Fortunately, by God’s infinite wisdom, the true Church is not the building, denomination, or even the group any of us fellowship with on a regular basis. The Church is the Body of Christ made up of all of us who have put our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. The blessing in this is that there can not be splits or divisions of the true Church.  It is a spiritual creation of our Heavenly Father and is not based on any man-made designations. This is a truth that is important to communicate with our children. It is important for several reasons.

  • We want our children to identify with the true Church (Body of Christ) –  not a building
  • We want our children to know that we as people fail, but the true Church has stood the test of time and is eternal  (Colossians 1:17-19 (NIV)17 He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the Body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.)
     
  • We want our children to be connected to other Christians to build the true Church – not become “Lone Ranger” Christians flitting here and there, tossed about by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14 KJV) 
  • We want our children to know that even when hurtful, wrong things happen in the Church, God is bigger and is at work to accomplish HIS will through His Church (Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 I love the Body of Christ!  I have been blessed my whole life with brothers and sisters in the Body who have loved me and encouraged me in my journey to become all God has called me to be. I want to conclude with the following verse. If we can model this for our children and grandchildren, we will honor our Heavenly Father –

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.