5/12/2019 Words to Live By

A scripture reading from this for this Sunday comes from Psalms the 23rd psalm.

For those of you that our readers out there there is this is free stuff. This has nothing to do with anything. But Max Lucado wrote a great book called traveling light. It's an older book that was on the 23rd psalm in the idea was travel light let the Lord carry your burdens for you and don't carry so much stuff give it over to him and it all centers around this. Okay. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in Green Pastures. He leads me beside Still Waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his namesake, even though I walk through the darkest Valley I fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff. They comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long the word of God for the people of God.

Let us pray.

Ord

are the meditations of our hearts? And the words of my lips be pleasing in your sight our Rock and Our Redeemer. amen

I would say about 50% of the funerals. I do are women.

About that's actually not true. It's actually a higher amount cuz cuz of that it is actually larger than that, but You know. When I meet with the family inevitably they will become a conversation around. Did Mom have a favorite Bible verse? Would you like some scripture read? and often enough the response is well, she really like the 23rd psalm. It's kind of a go to I get it I get it and so many times it's it's really what we claim to when we're not for sure. What other like that's the scripture that's in our heads. Right? Like if we're in need an end. We're going through a difficult time and we're looking for something to clean too often times. It'll be the scriptures that we know and we tend to know at least the front part and the back part of the 23rd psalm, right? When do the front part so well, right. like even though I walk through the valley of the

it was wrong up there, right? And then I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

That was the wrong up there. Right? Right. I'm not going to argue with this EEB people. But but that's to prove to you that is on your heart's like you don't need the screen to tell you that you know, the 23rd psalm. Are you at least know what it ought to sound like in your ear? And there's a lot of things that sound in our ear familiar and I tried this at Toledo and I got burned. So if I ask if I ask for things that your mother has said make sure they're Church appropriate and and make sure they're loving okay cuz there are children among us and they might not be aware that Mom's talk like that. Okay, like there's a different generational thing.

What are some things that mothers have said to us that we we continue on at that we here? regularly

What was that?

service done

That's really yeah. So I love you forever is that's really it. It's at I love you forever. That's that's what we hear most. Right? Like we might think that we heard sit down and be quiet. We might think we heard wait till your father gets home. We might think you heard stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about right we might think we've heard those things, but we've heard more than any of those. I love you. You know sometimes in life life life life throws things at us and in my mom's had early-onset Alzheimer's for for for a while now and there's a whole bunch of things that she said over the years. But but really what what I miss most of all is just the sound of her voice. And I know many of you here today. It's been a long time since you've heard your mother's voice and maybe you even forgot what it sounds like, but you don't forget the love that you felt you don't forget the encouragement and support. and that support love and encouragement is based in God's love the assurances that that God gives us in scripture Our carry down from generation to generation to generation not so often by men but by women I find it kind of ironic that a guy is giving the Mother's Day sermon today. I can tell you nothing about mothering. I can tell you anything about motherhood. I don't know any of the struggles. I know some of you when you think about motherhood you begin to think about June cleaver. Okay, now notice first off she's not sweating. Second offense probably 4:45 and she's getting the basting done just in time to have that that that she's got the pearl necklace on and she's not using one single cuss word at all and everything's going her way. And so that's the image that we have some times that we give ourselves of motherhood. Right? Like we give ourselves that there's this image of this mother in the 1950s, right? And then we forget about the day drinking in the Quaaludes. Like that's what we think about right like we forget about all this other extra stuff and we just like oh, this is what it means to be a mother and so some of us have lived up to some of you all you all have have tried to live up to this expectation, right and the expectation in our society today might not be June Cleaver. It might be okay to go through McDonald's, but it's not okay to miss a ball game. Like it's not okay to to not have your kid in five different sports and for you not to have to feel like you're stretched out 10 different ways to get them all over everywhere, right? So are they going to offer you this morning is? the first thing me time can make for better we time. me time it's important to take care of yourself in physical and spiritual ways to find those things that give you energy and then actually do them like when we show our children and our families and even our grandchildren that maybe this is what it looks like to set boundaries and say I need to go do this for me and for my own health. Let that God can bless that that you can be a better parent and grandparent because you're taking care of yourself. And the other thing is that we can be bombarded so much by the image of what it means to be perfect. Right? Like I used to think that the perfect mother never yelled at their children. And then I had kids like to just doesn't happen. Right like that's not the definition of Love. Sometimes you stressed out. Sometimes you don't know what else to do and darn it. Sometimes that's the only thing they listen to And so it's important that we we understand that we don't have to have these high standards is like the reality is Instagram and Facebook and and Snapchat. They've all set these images. I'm one really they're just a filter on our life. Right? Like no really my house is always that clean know. It's probably not right like the reality is that that we in the struggles in our relationships God's love still shines through you can show your kid love and be exacerbated at the same time. You know, one of the things that that really can begin to trick people as they can begin to think that they're a failure because they're not meeting these needs, right? So instead of thinking of ourselves to June Cleaver, we then begin to think that we are in and of ourselves this kind of mother.

And for the younger people in the room, who is this? Morticia The Addams Family if you haven't seen The Addams Family tell your mom and dad you want to watch it if it's appropriate. I've got no idea haven't seen in twenty years. So but the idea that we can somehow feel as though we're being mean or degrading. You know, one of the important things about Mother's Day is the reality is for so many of us. It's a mixed bag Mother's Day is a mixed bag of emotions. You do not have to physically bear children to be a mother but neither. Do you have to love children to be a mother? That's the mixed bag of what Mother's Day is for a lot of people.

But there's something in the relationships that are built. That we can learn from God's love in and on this day. New Paul Thorn who is a blues musician wrote a song and he took all of these words that his mother passed down and it's called that's life. And it's just some of it. It's it's thank you. I'm okay, I guess. I just need a little rest. I'll catch up on my sleep tonight. It's okay. That's life. I've got blueberries in the yard. I bought a hundred mason jars. I'm going to pick them when they're ripe. Another season that's life.

Those words of wisdom that can come down from generation to generation aren't these words. It's more so much the the basis of those words the care. You're so wore out and stressed out that you've convinced yourself. You can sleep at night. And maybe that is the only time you get rest. and I I have no idea how many days of work a hundred mason jars is I'm guessing it's probably over in afternoon. Yeah, okay, but the idea what it means to care for others. That's really what Mother's Day is about. It's the people that have cared for us. You know just just because maybe the conversations with my mom changed to 10 years ago doesn't mean that that I didn't feel mothered. I've got three sisters. There's plenty of people to make up for that and there's people in your lives that step up in some of you here has mothered people that maybe there were your kids friends. And maybe maybe they're kids, you know in the community that had a really tough home life, but your house is one house that they could feel loved and you knew that they were safe. Ask someone that cares for others that's important to you. Because God creates in us this need to reach others with God's love that. We want to make sure other people are cared for. And it's not just about the food and it's not it's not just about any of those ways that we make others feel loved and cared for but it's the expression of actual love which is based in God's love for us.

the ministries of the church Are based in care? They're based in. Christian Education and Care so got this one coming up in the fall, right? We got VBS coming up in the summer and what those are about is there about mothering and caring for children making sure they have a safe space. Making sure they have somewhere that their loved and cared for. And that's important to us because it's important to God.

So-so mother day is about honoring those who have loved us. Maybe through difficult and challenging times. maybe through

baby through some really tough times in our lives.

You know.

motherhood isn't about

just the day today. It's about being available. Tall for others in the ear. You know that for those of us born after essentially 1985, I'd say moms were the original Google. If you needed to find out how to get that stain out or what to do when your kid poops in the tub, that's who you would call. You wouldn't have to Google it. You would just know and those conversations mattered right? Like how many conversations have been lost because it's easier to search for that recipe than it is to call on the phone. So if I can give you some some advice if you have someone in your life who has those keys to success for you, feel free to instead of texting them go ahead and call them cuz you might just to hear their voice and you might also find out what else they have to offer what else is going on in their life because it's not necessarily so much about the information that's passed down but the wisdom that's passed down with the information. Does that make sense? It's not so much about exactly what this fact is that we need to know but the love and the care that goes with it.

Some of the mothers out there on behalf of all of Ben mother died say, thank you. Thank you for showing up when no one else would thank you for for reaching out and to show care when others didn't feel like they deserved it. Thank you for hanging in there when all of their support has left.

God continually

Loves us no matter what.

And when I have been with families who have been going through life's most difficult difficult difficult positions. When sometimes the decision that others would recommend is cutting losses and stop supporting and in trying to to just let go.

I can't. because they were Made to love no matter what?

May God continue to use you to bless others with love when they feel Loveless and may God continue to provide wisdom for Generation to generation because you are the source of God's love for many people. May you continue to feel God's love and don't worry about being compared to June Cleaver or don't worry about feeling like you're and Morticia. Still like a mom. That's pretty amazing. I hear. Let us pray.

Or help us. to honor and love the women in Our Lives who have cared for us who have nurtured us. Who is Bertha? And your son's name we pray. Amen.