A worthy Legacy

This month marks eleven years since the passing of my Mother, Linda Lou (Hoban) Brinkman. This week my Sister found a letter that my Mom wrote to me when I was around 13 years old, that she never gave to me, or if she did I forgot because I was only 13. She opened the letter by calling me her 'Angel' and reminded me about ten times in three pages that I am a messenger of God, and that is why God had her name me Angela, which as it happens means messenger of God. She reminded me to always follow the call of God and to walk in obedience. Nothing in this letter was new, my Mom was always great with words and communicating her love to us, she never failed to encourage us, so this letter was not the 'here's all the things I wish I had said to you more often' kind of letter. It was all the things she was constantly telling me to the point of my annoyance. While the whole letter was an emotional read to say the least, it was her final words that hit the hardest: "Know that God will be a Father to you and a Friend to you. He wants to be your JOY and DELIGHT... Though He is a Father, know that He has the heart of a Mother. A heart of unconditional love and compassion." Reading these words I was reminded of Jesus' own words for the Jews, weeping over them, wishing He could gather them together like a hen does her chicks under her wing (Lk.13:34); and of Gods promise to comfort Israel as a mother comforts her child (Is. 66). You see, my father was not the greatest Dad for the majority of my life, so from early on God was my only Father, even though I was terribly angry with Him and misunderstood Him, still He was all I had. My Mom reminded me of these words one other time, it was the last time I saw her before she passed. She knew that I knew God was my Father and that God had been filling that role in my life but she wanted me to know that when she left this earth I was not alone, I was not an orphan, just as God was my Father, He would also be my Mother. All the roles that are divided between parents in the care, nurturing, and development of their child, God would fulfill. I have treasured those words in my heart! My Mom wrote this letter toward the end of her first bout with cancer, of which she survived and went onto five years of remission. As we celebrated her fifth year and looked forward with hope my Mom fell ill again and after five years of cancer-free check-ups the cancer had returned and spread through out. I had wonderful conversations with my Mom during this time, and many tears, but she would always remind me to stay close to God and to trust in Him. These are the things I will forever hold onto. Not because it was what she said to me towards the end of her life but because I had watcher her live those words from the time I was young. Now the best way I know to honor her memory is live in a like manner, walking close to the Father, listening to His voice, and following His path no matter where it may lead. And that is the legacy I hope to leave my kids...the same as my Mother left to me... may it go on through each generation until Christ returns Amen!

Childlike faith- Samuel was Healed!

Samuel was healed today! My little boy has experienced the healing touch of God before but was too young to know about it. As a baby he had significant digestive problems. We were unaware at the time that is what the problem was, but my little boy was not keeping most of his food down and was very tiny. When I look back at pictures I see a little alien with a big head and a little body. Samuel lost weight after we left the hospital, as most babies tend to do, the only difference with Samuel is that he wasn't gaining any of the wait back. It wasn't until he was 3 months old that Samuel finally reached his birth weight. We were with him at the hospital and they were doing a test to see if his intestines were tangled up and therefore not letting most of the food pass through his system, but forcing it back up. The test seemed to take forever. We know that there were many people praying for Samuel and that this test would be clean. As the liquid was highlighting Samuel's digestive process it got "stuck". We waited and waited praying that the liquid would move past the 'hump'. If it did not they told us Samuel would need surgery to re-adjust his intestines. We were all praying so desperatly and then all the sudden the liquid rushed through and finished the process and Samuel had no more problems after that. No more spitting up/throwing up 90% of what he ate and that week he finally passed his birth weight and kept growing steadily. We knew that it was a 'God-thing'!

Today... Now fast forward 3 years. This afternoon I was up stairs with Samuel in his bedroom as he was preparing to take a nap. All the sudden he says 'mama I got to potty!' So I told him to go and I would wait for him in his room. Then I hear a loud thud. Samuel say's "my head" and I could tell the screams were on there way so I ran out into the hall, picked him up and swooped him away into my bedroom so that the screams wouldn't wake up his sister who was already asleep. There was silence and then came the wails. I looked at his head and saw the dreaded news. Instead of a red mark or a bump there was a good size indent in his forehead with a red line showing where he ran into the edge of the wall. I immediately held him close and began to pray out loud over him. After about 15 seconds Samuel stopped crying and looked at me. I looked at his forehead and there was no indent, no redness, no bruise nothing! I ran my finger over where I had previously felt the indent and it was smooth. Samuel looked at me and Said "mommy its all better now" I told him "Samuel Jesus Healed you!" and his response was "yea Jesus made Samuel all better, now I get down and go potty Mama" So I let him down and he went potty, then we slowly walked back into his bedroom and Samuel laid down in his bed. We began to pray again before his nap time and we thanked Jesus for healing Samuel and Samuel thanked Jesus himself for making his head all better.

I thank God for his goodness. I have been told my kids doctor all the time "bumps and bruises are o.k. as long as there not too bad but indents are dangerous- especially when the kids are so little". I also thank God that my little boy is becoming aware of the character and goodness of God from the time he is young and I pray that we, that I, am always available to help capture those moments and step out in my Faith mixed with the faith of my little one and see God work.

Thank you God for your provision in my family, for your goodness and care for us. For your attention to the little things and for your gentle, simple reminders of your faithfulness!!!

Amen!