Keep Your Fork.

Today my mom would have celebrated her 60th birthday.


And on my drive to work this am, I couldn't help but wonder what she would say to me if she could tell me about Heaven, or about what she wished she would have known about God while she was still alive. She could tell me lots of things, but as I prepare to speak on priorities I think she would want to talk to me about that.



I think she would tell me to live for the next life while I am still in this one.

To love people and give until it hurts.

I think she would tell me to give my money and resources and time away to people who need it because the person of JESUS is so worth it.

that life is too short to carry a grudge.

I think she would tell me to love the least of these because no other generation has been in such a position to bless others.

I think she would tell me to tickle K, H, and E and let them stay up late and eat cookie dough past their bedtime sometimes.

I think she would tell me to have patience when I get frustrated.

I think she would say to always teach the whole Gospel, not just the parts people like.

I think she would say that it's really true that we are blessed when others mock us because they are clueless about how worth it Jesus really is.

I think she would tell me to laugh and smile more than I cry, and when I do cry, to grieve over the sin in my life that breaks God's heart and keeps me from going deeper with him.

I think she would say that attitude matters more than we realize.

I think she would say to remember that God loves me. He loves me. He is not angry. He is not unjust. He loves me.

I think she would say not to cry for her because she had less than sixty years in this life. Instead she would tell me to pray for those people I know who have had so many more years and yet have lived every moment for themselves.

I think she would tell me to take my vitamins and get my stinkin' yearly. (sigh)

I think she would say that life is such a small offering, but in the hands of Jesus it can mean so much more.

I think she would tell me to quit wishing my life away. (sigh)

I think she would tell me not to fear.

I think she would remind me that adventure is the stuff of life.

I think she would tell me that the most important thing is the Kingdom of God and I can get busy building my own kingdom or the One that will reign forever.

I think she would tell me to keep my fork, because the best is yet to come and His name is Yahweh.



So tonight, I will go with my very best friend Jami to my mom's all-time favorite restaurant. We will probably order dessert first. We will probably laugh and cry and be sad and happy at the same time. We will remember one of the classiest women ever to grace this earth. We will live and laugh and love because her life and death taught us how important every single moment is.

[That's what got me out of bed this morning.]



We will celebrate her life by celebrating our own.


Heck, we may even keep our fork.



Love you, Mama. You're still my hero.