My Mother Was...Tenacious

My mom was a tenacious woman. If you were a part of her family, this was difficult to navigate at times. You could see it on her face when she was in mode...a disgruntled determination that could make for difficult conversations. (In later years these conversations were often about the frustrations with technology.)  But here's the big legacy-forming thing, she had a tenacious faith. Not the kind of stubborn, here are the tenants of my faith, don't argue with me faith, but a deeply rooted in God's love* and word, faith.

From the time she was a child, she lived with this nagging belief that she was the least favorite person in the room. It dogged her, her entire life. This could have influenced a jaded view of God's love, but instead, it was the anchor of her soul. She was fully convinced of His love for her and she wanted others to believe He loves too. "He loves us more than we can even imagine!" she would often say. If she was speaking directly to you, she would lock eyes and you might wonder how long the eye-lock was going to last. She would also declare her love for us with that eye-lock. Tenacity!

My mom was also a feed-your-faith woman. She tenaciously read and studied and took notes and ...worked* at knowing and memorizing God's word. There were bible notes and noted verses scribbled everywhere. EVERYWHERE! On stickies, note pads, junk mail...and of course, in bible margins...in several bibles. There were handwritten index cards for memorizing. The Word was a part of her very fiber,  and the Bible was a foundation for her also tenacious, prayer life.

The disgruntled and sometimes unpleasant, determination of my mother may have seemed like a contradiction of faith in the difficult moments but looking over her lifetime of tenacity, it became a beautiful picture to me. She was a flawed woman, as am I*, but most of all she held on to what was good and fixed her eyes on Jesus, the author, and finisher of her faith.

The memory of her tenacious faith, reminds me, that I need to be ever in the Word, persevering in prayer, and fully convinced of God's love for me, and others. It reminds me that ordinary people can and will, finish the race well. This is legacy at its best. This is amazing grace.

(And you know what? I kind of miss the disgruntled determination face. It was part of my mom.)

"But test all things carefully so you can recognize what is good. Hold firmly to that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21 AMP 

 

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 1:3

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." Deut 7:9

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12