The last few days I have shared quite a few posts about The Mack Impact Gala. I did so because I think they are an awesome organization that blesses children like Millie, helping them to forget for the day that their lives are filled with painful treatments, worry, and sickness. For one day, they get to just ‘Be A Kid!” If you did not hear the interview, I did with them about Millie, go back and look it up. They gave me the opportunity to tell her story from a mom’s perspective. I know for me if I hear the story, rather than just read it, it comes alive!
While I have been sharing her story by video, I have also been just living life behind the scenes. Doing the mundane things that moms do. Washing laundry, going to doctor appointments, doing math lessons, reading books to the kids, and working in the yard. Nothing to exciting to talk about except when I decided to be a ‘cool mom’ on Thursday. ((Now before I tell this, I must acknowledge that my mama taught me better. Once she reads this, I can hear her in my mind saying, “Courtney Mignon, what were you thinking??!?” uhm not much, I guess… just throwing that out there))
Little Man said “Mom, we have left over smoke bombs from the Fourth of July. Can we please light them?” Knowing I should say “yes” a little more often to those things that kids find exciting, I said that would be fine. Now I would never let him do it, so I headed out with the lighter. Try as I might I could not get it to light (should have been a sign!) However, it had a long fuse, so I stepped inside and lit it expecting a slow burning fuse and then smoke. Needless to say, it was a crazy sight to see me dashing for the sliding door as that thing had a super-FAST fuse and then a pop! At that point yellow smoke started pouring out. I gave it a toss on the concrete, but not before my thumb took the burn and became stained in yellow. It was hard to see the blister through the stain, but OUCH! That painful thumb is a source of instant regret. It is a stinging reminder that my mama said to never light fireworks while you are holding them.
Regrets have been a common topic of conversation around our home lately. Wistfully wishing we would have made different choices yet knowing that at the time we made the best choice with the information and capacity we had. Some regrets can be used as a learning point, while others are often a cue to seek forgiveness. Most often the things we regret are not things we can change, although some of them we can seek restoration for. I know that Satan can use our regrets as a place to chain us to our past. He can use it as a way to keep us locked in both sorrow and often shame. Christ on the other hand does not want us chained to the past. He is a chain breaker. He came to give us LIFE!
John 10:10 “The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
In this passage, the thief is Satan. His only desire is to steal our joy, take our lives, destroy any happiness we have, and ultimately have our eternal souls. That is in direct opposition to Christ who came to be a GIVER OF LIFE and he wants us to have it ABUNDANTLY.
The definition of abundantly is “in large quantities; plentifully.” See he does not want us to just live little bits of life, he wants us to have a huge life…an enormous impact…a testimony that is plentiful. He wants us to be so filled with him, that his goodness is overflowing from our hearts. Just as our farm pond overflows into the valley below during a heavy rain, your life should overflow even during heavy showers. Just as the pecan orchard in that valley gladly drinks in the life-giving waters, what comes out of you should be life giving allowing others to drink in the goodness of GOD.
Something though, I find that if you live in a state of regret, if your life is backward focused, you have nothing left to give. You waste your precious energy thinking about the ‘could of, should of, would of’ thoughts. You do not absorb God’s goodness; the roots of regret begin to bind up the blessings. Often the tap root of bitterness steals all the life-giving nutrients that flowed to your heart. When that happens, you have nothing left to give until you deal with that root.
Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Luke 6:45 “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
In my life, I can use this year as something to be bitter over or I can use it as something that helps me share God’s goodness. I miss Millie so much. Looking at pictures, watching videos, holding her monkey, sometimes even experiencing something that triggers a memory are all things that bring great PAIN, but that is not the end of the story. These things bring GREAT JOY too. I would never for one second NOT want to hear her name, remember her presence, rejoice in her love, and reflect on her life. We were so blessed to even know a little girl called Millie. Our hearts are overjoyed that she was sent to us! The fact that we got to be her family, that we had her with us for 3 ½ years was a HUGE thing! We are eternally grateful for every second. We pray that that gratefulness and God’s goodness, overflow from our lives to yours. Blessings Friends!
Answered Prayers! Our grandson was born Thursday. He and Momma are doing well.
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