Journals and parents

Towards the top of my list of things in life that truly make me happy is writing. This past weekend I rekindled my love for pen and paper (though in this case that expression if used very loosely) and I have determined to not let that flaming torch of love die again! I even bought a beautiful new journal to inspire me to keep it up. I’ve got to if I’m ever going to fulfill my life long goal of writing a book before I die!

So Saturday when I arrived home from purchasing previously mentioned journal, I took a trip down memory lane and began to read through all the journals I’ve kept over the years. At the top of my very first journal entry is not my own handwriting but my dad’s: “12/7/95, Proverbs 7”. When I began flipping through the pages and saw his handwriting over and over again: “What does this verse mean?”, “How can you apply that to your life?” with my responses following, I thought of how of I struggle every morning getting up and making it to work on time with scarcely enough time to eat breakfast or dry my hair and yet how my dad woke up every morning and not only made time for his own devotions with the Lord but to meet with his eight year old daughter and lead her in the Scriptures. For the 20 years I lived at home, he did this nearly every morning. Wow, what a dad I have!

When I finished with that journal, I found another one I began in my late teens with the inscription in the front, “My journey in becoming a woman worth ‘more than rubies’’”. In this journal I recorded Bible verses and quotations from books solely on what it means to be a Godly feminine woman. I started it with the purpose of giving it to my future little girl when she reached adolescence. When I read through the quotes (and feeling like the absolute WORST wife imaginable, wow, I have so far to go! Thank you, Lord, for a patient husband!), I began to think of my mom. Every single verse and quotation seemed to be written about her. My mother didn’t pass on a journal she wrote but her actions every day showed me what it meant to be a submissive wife and a loving mother. Wow, what a mom I have!

In September of 1996 I wrote down a list of prayer requests: “7) Mom and Dad will be better parents. Answered______” I’m convinced now that spot was left blank because it was never answered. My parents did not become better parents. They were and are the absolute BEST parents I could have ever hoped to have! They showed me the way to Christ in their words and deeds every day of my life.