Wednesday, September 20, 2006

HOW'D THEY WIND UP IN THESE FIXES?, PART 2

Two days ago, I blogged about our daughters. One is married to an atheist and recently had a spiritual rebirth. When she went to church for the first time in eight years of marriage, her husband told her he would divorce her if she ever went back.

The other daughter is a single mom of two active little boys who teaches school and sells real estate. (Interpretation: extremely busy and has no family member in her town to help with childcare.) Added to the harried mix is a difficult ex, who, for three years, has made her life unbearable at times.

Milton and I sometimes worry about her two boys, our grandboys, we call them. One asked us recently, "Why do I have to have two houses and go back and forth? I don't like it."

How we wish they had a home with both parents who loved each other. Instead, there's friction, and the boys feel it—and have suffered from it.

We wish things were better for both of our daughters. In my blog post on Monday, I asked the question, "How did they wind up in these fixes?"

This past Mother's Day, my daughters and I spoke at our church. I titled my message "A Mother Speaks to Her Daughters" and set up the platform like a TV set with three wingback chairs and plants, etc. We miked up and carried on a conversation. People in the congregation laughed at times and wiped tears too.

We raised our daughters in church. They were both active in children's ministries and later the teen ministry. They volunteered in various areas. One was a puppeteer in children's church, and they were both active witnesses for the Lord in their schools.

The year they were about 11 and 14, we had a speaker for our mother-daughter banquet who had two daughters about the ages of mine. At the banquet, her daughters played a piano duet while the mother accompanied them on the violin. Then the three sang in beautiful, three-part harmony the theme song to the Sound of Music—"The hills are alive, with the sound of music…"

That night at home, I gathered my girls in my arms, and said, "If you never sing, or play, or accomplish great feats, if you'll just love Jesus with all of your hearts—that's what'll please me and bring me joy. Putting Jesus first in your life is more important than talent, or wealth, or fame, or anything else you could attain. Always love Jesus."

Of course, my girls did accomplish a lot, in many areas. One was a champion swimmer, and her relay team was in the top 10 in the nation. The other daughter graduated from high school two years early and entered college at 16. They both were musical and took music lessons.

So, how did they wind up in these fixes?

More later…

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