At 90, my Mom readily admits that her thoughts are more about heaven now than when she was in her twenties.
One thing remains the same, and that is, the example she is to me… whether as a child when she led me by the hand to Sunday school, or today as she reflects on her heavenly hope and the legacy she wants to leave behind.
Looking at the two of us, you would never guess we have a stubborn streak… Well we do! Some of the words that describe stubborn are tenacious, determined; refusing to yield or comply, a couple of the less flattering descriptions are, bullheaded; mulish.
The key is to take that stubborn streak and to “Set your mind on things above”
A mind that is stubbornly set on doing things God’s way will quickly realize that is impossible without His help… The good news is, His help it there for us.
I remember the moment that I realized the same power that raised Christ from the dead was in me!! I will always remember the moment that changed my life forever!! You would have thought there was a sale at Bloomingdales the way I ran up to the altar to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. The thing that stands out to me the most about the experience is when I asked Jesus to forgive all of my sins, I knew I was clean and my sins had all been washed away by the precious blood He shed on the cross for me. The gratitude and love I felt was like nothing I had ever known before.
That was the beginning……
Scripture tells us “We are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) The moment you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside to help us, to guide us, to teach us
John 14:16-18 says, and I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever. The Spirit of truth the world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him But you know Him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
We are all the temple of the Holy Spirit!! Amazing but true
So getting back to my mom Betty, and her example of setting her mind on things above.
One day about ten years ago I heard that determined tone come into her voice and her words to me were “Dorothy I absolutely refuse to become a nasty old lady in my elder years, I don’t want my children to remember me that way”
You see, she had seen some of her friends become demanding, impatient, and ungrateful. It had a profound affect on her. That stubborn streak of her’s kicked in and she unwaveringly set her mind on her goal.
By the grace of God she is such a beautiful example to us of the fruit of the spirit manifesting in her life. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control.
As her daughter, I am one of her caregivers. It is precious time together that I will always treasure. My mom constantly is expressing her love and appreciation for any small things we may do.
She says, “Dorothy, your father (who is already in heaven) would be so proud of you and the way you take care of me. You are so good to me. You are a good nurse. It always makes me smile when she calls me a ‘good nurse’ because you see in reality I am really rather clumsy at it.
Many of the things she did for me as a child I now do for her. So whether I’m styling her hair or helping her with a bath, these moments are very special, filled with reminiscing and laughter.
I also love shopping for Mom, and dressing her in the “coolest” styles. One of her favorites is the white jean jacket she’s wearing in the picture above. But the clothing she loves the most is the “Divine Attire” she clothes herself in daily, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It is apparent to anyone who comes into contact with her that she is divinely dressed.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore as God chosen people holy and dearly loved cloth yourselves compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
So, today it is I who takes her by the hand, to guide her (she is legally blind). But she sees things so clearly. I love seeing the world through her tender eyes, filled with a mothers love, the love of Jesus that dwells in her. I can only hope and pray that I too will set that kind of an example to my child someday.
So getting back to the beginning of my blog, I too have quite the stubborn streak in me, However you are just going to have to wait till next time to see how I have applied it to stubbornly setting “My mind on things above”