Tears for Breakfast

Children can really show you the heart of God. And sometimes the lesson God wants us to learn, we have a hard time receiving, but He loves us enough to keep loving us.

One Sunday, we were eating breakfast and jabbering as we were getting ready for church. My youngest son was noticeable quiet. Now, for those who know our baby boy, then you know that he is usually a ball of energy.

So I asked him what was wrong. He answered nothing, but I could tell that was not true. Finally, as he sat down beside me, I put my hand upon his and asked him again to tell me what was wrong. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to hold them back and in a nearly inaudible whisper, he said, "I had a bad dream."

And this is what he said: "In my dream I was following God, but the Devil came along and told me to follow him. I listened to him and I did follow him. But when I followed him, he led me off a cliff, and I fell off the cliff. And now God is not in my heart anymore."

Now for those that know me, now, both my son and I had started to cry. I just pulled him up from the table and into my arms and hugged him tight, reassuring him that it was just a really bad dream, and that God is still in His heart. Sometimes a dream is so real that it is hard to distinguish where the dream ends and where reality begins. But that is why we can't depend solely on how we feel, and we must go back to what God says is true in the Bible. I wanted to reassure him that God is with him even when sometimes we do choose to follow the devil.

Later while listening to K-Love radio, I heard this passage from "Jesus Calling," a book by Sarah Young. It summarized exactly what I wanted to affirm for my son. "You are Mine for all time--and beyond time, into eternity. No power can deny you your inheritance in heaven. I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! Even if you falter as you journey through life, I will never let go of your hand."

It is a message that I know that I will have to reinforce for my son as he grows in his relationship with Christ. But it was also a message I needed to be reminded of as well...that God is with me, that He chooses me, that He knows me, and that He still loves me.

I hope you know that today and that you feel the power of His presence in your life.

To read the entire "Jesus Calling" devotional, look up the reading for March 10. The Scripture for that day was Psalm 37:23-24 and Psalm 18:30.

The Dream

I haven't been very political in my blog although I am very passionate about politics. But something happened this week that I just had to share.

I talked to a child this week who cried on my shoulder because her Dad may be deported. It broke my heart, as I prayed with her and cried with her and tried to assure her that everything would be okay. I tried to comfort her with the reminder that her Dad loves her and wants her to have the best chance at a good life.

And what struck me most about that was earlier in the week I had watched CNN's Black in America special, "Almighty Debt." One thing that the featured pastor asked was "Why are other people risking their lives to come here....to obtain the dream, but we who have been here, can't see the dream?"

I don't know the answer to that question. I struggle with that when I see kids, black and white, who seem to take it for granted that we get to go to school for free. Education is free in this country. We can't see the dream or remember what folks sacrificed for things we take for granted.

As Election Day approaches, all of these things have coalesced together in my mind. So my WOW Moment today is I am truly glad to live in this country....to be an American....to have liberties and freedoms that some can only dream of. I am grateful for those who died that I might have the life that I so easily live every day.

CNN also did a feature on "Who Votes" and I was astounded that in mid-term elections only about 46% of us as Americans vote. We were behind Afghanistan...who even with their country being torn up by war has 49% of citizens voting.

As an African American, it has not been that long ago since my ancestors were disenfranchised...mocked, harassed, sometimes beaten, sometimes murdered and yet they kept coming, year after year to excercise their right to vote as a citizen of this great country. Flawed though we are as a country, hey...we are all in need of redemption, we can change things with our vote.

As a woman, I remember that it hasn't been that many years since women, even in this country, could not vote. And in this year, two thousand and twelve, there are still many people in this world that cannot exercise the choosing of those who would govern them.

So as an African American woman...I say WOW...I am grateful that I get that chance on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Just take a moment and remember those who came before that you might have that right. Honor them with your vote....no matter who you choose to vote for, exercise that right as a citizen.