The Lord's Plans for This Old Mommy

Rebekah has always been very observant of  people around her.  Since toddlerhood,  she would stare with childish frankness until caught. We quietly reminded her not to stare, or would turn her gaze away by gently turning her face.

One day, when she was three, she was enthralled with a beautiful toddler girl and an equally beautiful young mommy strolling by us in the grocery store.

 “Look Mommy, she’s with her big sister,” she said, staring and pointing to the little girl.

 “No, honey, that’s her mommy,” I replied.

 Rebekah looked quite confused and looked from the other mom’s face to my own several times before protesting again.

 “No, it’s her sister,” she insisted.

 I realized she was recognizing the fact that her older sister, Jana, 18, was closer to the age of  the young mom than I was. Rebekah had been taken on many exciting excursions with her older sister, but always came home to an older mommy. She couldn’t imagine that some children have young mommies.

(A week old Mommy with a week old baby Jana.)

I attempted to explain that I used to be a young mommy, and I looked young like that other mommy when Jana, Daniel and Bethany were little kids.

(A 15 year old Mommy with a newborn Rebekah.)

(Off the subject, but my labor secret is to put on waterproof mascara

 and put my hair in a bun when I go into labor.

When I'm done,

 I pull out the pins,

toss my hair like a movie-star

and am as ready as I'll ever be for pictures.)

I explained how 7 years went by between Jon's birth (baby #5) and her birth, so I was now an older Mommy. I thought I had done a great job of explaining this great mystery to Rebekah and turned to finish loading the rest of my groceries onto the conveyor belt.

 I hadn’t realized we had an audience until slight chuckles from the man ahead of me punctuated Rebekah’s final I'm-gunna-win-this-conversation statement.

"Mommy, I know it's her big sister."

*****(click on links to read the verses)*****

We all marry and begin our new lives with great plans and expectations.  They may be good plans, they may be spiritual plans, they may even be plans to serve the Lord.

But, Proverbs 16 teaches us to commit our plans to the Lord, and our plans will succeed.  In the spiritual realm, success is being in the Lord's will, physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.  We can trudge through life as a  falsely humble suffering martyr, or we can accept the Lord's plans with a sincerely thankful and worshipful heart.

I never planned to be carrying a diaper bag at 38.  We began our family young with great plans to be young when they moved out.  The Lord had different plans.  We learned that His plans are best.  We would never change our life now,  and the blessings of being older parents have been tremendous.  Tiring, yes, but amazing.

We don't plan miscarriages.  We don't plan children with health issues.  We don't plan to lose our children to any disease or accident.

We do plan how many we think we should have.  We do plan what we think they should look like and how they should act.  We do plan the spacing we want.  We plan the gender we want. 

Sometimes, our plans are the Lord's plans.  He was gracious enough to grant me the desire of my heart with the number of children I wanted.  Since I was about 11 or 12, six was emblazoned in my heart.

But when His thoughts are not our thoughts and His plans are not our plans, we need to trust in His love, His mercy, His grace and His compassion.  Even in our sorrow and grief, He is there, and His plans are still FOR US and not AGAINST US.

Jeremiah 29:11

 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,

says the LORD,

thoughts of peace and not of evil,

 to give you a future and a hope.

As far as the Lord's plan to allow me to go through cancer from the time Rebekah was 2, and never allow her to know a well Mommy?  This is for MY peace, MY future and MY hope.

What joy Rebekah Joy brought us all through times of darkness and sorrow.  She gave us all reason to continue on in laughter and peace, when we purposed to not taint her childhood with fear and lack of faith.

His plan to make me one of the oldest moms at my daughter Rebekah's graduation in 11 years?  It is for MY peace, MY future and MY hope.

What better future than to grow old with one child still at home?  I cherish the thought of her as my company in my old age.

Have you ever had parenting plans that didn't match up with the Lord's?  Have you surrendered your will and your heart?  Can you accept these plans for peace and hope in your life?

The prophet continues with precious words:

Jeremiah 29:12-13

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me,

and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find Me,

when you search for Me with all your heart.

Sounds like a great plan,
and a great promise,
for this old Momma!