I belong to a blog ring, Christian Women Online. What is so wonderful about this particular ring, is it sends me to the blogs of many Christian women so that I may enter their lives for a moment, laugh at their stories, share with them their struggles, learn some lessons and even be encouraged in my walk with God.
On Friday's, Christian Women Online allows us a chance to share one such blogger who had a post that blessed us, made us think, taught us. One of my regular reads is Windscraps. In this blog, written by Shannon Woodward, we are immersed into her life stories by her captivating writing. The best part is she always includes the sacred into her everyday stories. HA! I should have written about her for the Quote that Christian Women online did this past week. She always includes a Bible message into her posts, whether discussing a baby chick left on its own, or a humorous tale about her grandfather. She takes the time to reflect on how it relates to the Bible and in turn her readers are left to reflect.
She has written many blog posts that truly have blessed me. There is one in particular that I have read more than once. I remember the first time I read it, I whispered out loud, "WOW!" It reminds me that we should live our lives placing God first. It is so easy for us to get stuck in the busyness of our days and neglect the one who we love the most and who loves us the most. Not only that, but we should be so on fire for God, that we aspire to be, well what Shannon's son aspires to be, the M word.
Her post is pasted below. But please visit her site with the link above. Believe me, you will be blessed!!
The M Word
He was six, and we were driving through a gray mist, past an unbroken stretch of evergreen trees.
"Mom, when I grow up, you know what I want to be?"
For a long time he'd thought he might like to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, but since he hadn't mentioned that for awhile, I figured he'd gone on to something else.
"No, Zac. What do you want to be when you grow up?" I glanced into the rear-view mirror and saw his reflection captured there.
"I can't remember what it's called," he began. "It's that m word."
"Musician?" I offered.
"No."
"Medic?"
"Not that either."
"Moose-hunter?" I grinned at him in the mirror. He grinned back, but shook his head.
"Mom, I'm serious. It's that m word that means you go over to other countries and you tell people about Jesus."
His words entered my ears and worked themselves down to my heart, where they settled like a warm blanket. "Really, Zac? You want to be a missionary?"
"No ... not a missionary," he said. "It's that other m word." He scrunched his forehead, trying to think of a way to refine his description. With another glance, I saw his face relax. He'd thought of a way. "It's that m word that means you go over to other countries and tell people about Jesus ... and they kill you."
The blanket around my heart became a tourniquet, twisting and tightening. And I experienced a moment of pure schizophrenia. Two beings awakened in me and fought for dominance. One half -- the She-bear half, roared a silent Never! to the thought of my son being martyred, to the thought of anyone daring to turn their ignorant wrath on my boy. But as quickly as I screamed that noiseless denial, the Sister-in-Christ part of me forced her way to the surface. Yes, Zac. You hold on to that devotion with everything you've got, she whispered.
He let his pronouncement hang in the air, and then he turned those green eyes toward the treeline outside the window. I watched him staring at the blur of gray-green mist, and without the privilege of entering his thoughts, I knew them. He was dreaming of someday.
I drew a breath ... and began to pray.
What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. -James 4:14 NIV
And anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life. -Matt 19:29 TLB
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