Need Washing

I don't know who wrote this but it has such a good message that I had to repost it. If you know the author, please feel free to give them credit in the comments. God bless A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in 'Mom let's run through the rain,' she said. 'What?' Mom asked. 'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated 'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain,' 'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said. 'No, we won't, Mom.. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet? 'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!' The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.. 'Honey, you are absolutely right.. Let's run through the rain. If GOD lets us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,' Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case.. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Feel free to send this to the people you'll never forget and remember to also send it to the person who sent it to you. It's a short message to let them know that you'll never forget them. If you don't send it to anyone, nothing bad is going to happen, it just means you're in a hurry. Take the time to live!!! Keep in touch with your friends, you never know when you'll need each other -- and don't forget to run in the rain! author unknown Father God, I do need washing. Forgive and wash away my sins. Help me to live not the way the flesh wants to live Father but the way You want me to live. Help me to be a light to a lost and dying world. Give us a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. I thank You for all those You have placed in my life, family and friends, and ask that today You touch them in a mighty way and answer each prayer request for their needs Lord. Give them integrity in their decisions and peace in their circumstances. Give us this day our daily bread. Help us to draw close to You so that You may draw close to us. Let us abide in You and Your word abide in us. Thank you for friends who will forward these messages to me to give me just a minute to reflect on You. To some it may be a simple little story but to me Father it was a reminder that I do need washing, I need daily cleansing to be forgiven of my sins and be acceptable to stand before You. I give You all praise, honor and glory. In Jesus mighty name. Amen his servant, tawanab Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

On being a mom and an open letter to my children

All my life all I wanted was to be a mom. That was my single most prayer, always, and truly was a dream I reached for. Nothing ever seemed more important to me in the past NOR does anything compare to it now. My favorite story is be careful what you ask for when you pray but that's another blog, another time :)
I have learned a few truths about being a mom:
1) Wanting it ,no matter how badly, doesn’t mean you will be good at it!
2) Children do not come with an instruction booklet! No one, not new mothers or experienced mothers can tell you how to do it, they can only give you the benefit of their experience, right or wrong!
3) NO love comes close to it, (other than the love God has for you), not your love for your parents, your brothers and sisters if you have them, your spouse, nothing compares to the love you feel for your children, whether you gave birth to them or not.
4) If you think you can’t possibly love more, wait til you have grandchildren.
5) Being a mom is NOT easy, when they hurt you hurt.
6) Making the right decisions for your children as they are growing only gets harder with time, butting out when the choice is no longer yours is even harder.
7) the cycle of being a mom repeats itself:

• when they are little they depend on you for everything,

• teenagers think they know everything and you know nothing,
  
• young adults think you know something but your knowledge is dated and doesn’t apply to their generation,
  
• then comes a magic time when they realize you do know something and they turn to you for advice and actually believe you know what you are talking about and actually sometimes even listen to you (believe it or not it happens),
  
• then somewhere in the middle they start to think they have absorbed all your knowledge and everyone around them and once again they know everything,
• then you get older and they think what you knew you must have forgotten and you really don’t know anything. At some point I believe they realize they still love you and maybe by then they have children and understand some of the love you have for them.
  

8) No matter how hard you try at some point you will disappoint your children, and there will be times they might disappoint you.
9) they will make you cry and break your heart.
10) you will make them cry.
11) you NEVER EVER stop loving them (even though at times you might not like them).
12) they never lose their ability to hurt you.
13) you will wonder where you went wrong.
14) you will see what you did right (and unfortunately where you went wrong).
15) they will always take what you say wrong!
16) your children will remember things differently than you do.
17) being a mom is the single most important thing you will ever do in your life!!!!!!!
Take it seriously, you don’t get practice and you don’t get a second chance. Whether you give birth to them or God just chooses to put them in your life, cherish them, do the best you can, that is all God asks of you, don’t make rash decisions and don’t take them for granted.
They truly do grow up to fast.
18) you can be a mom without giving birth and love unconditionally those that God has put in your life.
19) there comes a time when they don’t need you anymore and you aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself because your life has revolved around them.
20) they will make decisions that make you wonder what alien being has possessed them.
21) your children will go through many changes, some of them you won’t like but you NEVER EVER stop loving them, that's being a mom and its wonderful!!!
I guess that is what this blog is all about -- I want my children to know I love them, ALL of them, whether they have been in my life a short time or all their lives.

OPEN LETTER TO MY CHILDREN:
I love you more than anything in this world and I thank God for putting you in my life and I thank you for putting up with me. When you think you disappoint me, its not you I’m disappointed in, its me. I only want whats best for all of you and don’t want to see you do things that will permanently scar or hurt you. Any advice I’ve given has been from love and just a little experience that God has given me with age. I hope you have taken something from your life with me that will benefit you and stay with you all your life. I didn't give you the gift of life, but I hope I’ve contributed in some small way in making your life happier. My wish for all of you is that you know the love I have for you and pass that love on to your own children. I pray your children never break your heart. I pray you always have your children and nothing comes between you and them, (and believe it or not many things can), I hope that your children give you as much happiness and happy memories as you have given me. No matter what happens I will always believe I’m truly blessed to have had all of you in my life. I may not always be right, I may not always say what you want to hear, but I will always love you, I will always be your mom.

Here’s a little advice from your mom:
1) Love your children with all your heart, they are a blessing from God and cannot be replaced.
2) teach your children about God, the world will teach them plenty, give them a Rock to come back to.
3) pick your battles, not everything is the end of the world, some things can even be ignored, don’t sweat the small stuff.
4) you can’t be their best friend and their mom until they are grown, they need you to teach them and give them guidance when they are little and yes, discipline.
5) don’t do things even with your children you have to apologize for later.
6) don’t make them grow up to fast, let them be little.
7) teach your children respect, not fear.
8) when you are tired, thank God you have them, when you are hurt, thank God you have them, when you are at your wits end, thank God you have them.
9) whatever you do, never stop thanking God for them, remember He could have chosen someone else to give them to.
10) don’t expect them to know you love them, tell them. (That’s good advice for all you love actually.) If you love someone, TELL them, don’t expect them to know by your actions because they can’t always tell.
Remember 16 above, they see things differently than you do, they will remember things differently than you do, you might even have to explain some things to them so they understand why you did what you did. (Miraculously after they have children of their own they can see why you did some of the things you did.) Unfortunately, you may not know how differently they took what you said or did when they were younger until they are grown! LOL