I'm trading it in, layin' it down....for the joy of the Lord is my strength!

A year ago today we were traveling down here to surprise my Mom for Mother's Day. That seems like ages ago. When we arrived at their house on Saturday morning, we tiptoed down the hall to her bedroom where she was just getting up. My Dad had intentionally left the double doors to their bedroom closed to help with the surprise. Yesterday as I opened those same doors to get something from Dad's room the sound of the creaking door took me right back to that moment. We opened them and she was standing next to her bed and we said, "Surprise, Happy Mother's Day!" She was surprised! And, although my Mom was not a woman given to expressing a lot of emotion outright, she spent the rest of the day telling others about her surprise visit. It was obvious that it blessed her.

We stayed for a few days. The next time I saw her was only a week later after having received the call from Dad saying that we need to come right away. I'm so thankful for that last visit at Mother's Day 2008! This one will probably prove to be my hardest, for sure. Will they ever be the same? But I was encouraged by the message from another blog I read, "Girltalk". If you have a chance to read it, click on the link and do so, but if you don't here is what I took from it as treasures...

"If He has purchased our salvation through the suffering and sacrifice of His son, we can trust that He is working good in the midst of our suffering.

May I encourage you to pour out your heart to the Lord of love? He knows, He sees, and he hears. Your tears are not lost on your heavenly Father. He is the compassionate Lord who urges you to draw near to Him. “I, I am he who comforts you” he declares (Is. 51:12).

It was said of Jonathan Edwards that even in the midst of being falsely accused and persecuted his “happiness was out of the reach of his enemies.” Your loss may be much greater, but the truths of the cross can also put your happiness out of the reach of your sorrows."

So, can I have a HAPPY Mother's Day? I'm not sure. I'm one who LOVES any reason to celebrate others, and even have loved seeing the creative things my hubs and kiddos have come up with in past years. Well, except for that one year where the hubs broke my blender in April and then gave ME a new one for Mother's Day...what in the world?? Ha!

My favorite gift was a cross that the hubs help eWe paint and put glitter on for my cross wall! I cherish that and she still knows that it was something special she did for me. Precious!

So, while it may be quite sad....I'm praying for myself and so many other women who find this day hard for various reasons....that the truths of the cross will put our happiness out of the reach or our sorrows....that we could trade our sorrows, our pain, our anger and bitterness, our loneliness or despair all in. That we could lay it all down for the joy of the Lord. My favorite verse for quite some time is Nehemiah 8:10, "..for the joy of the Lord is my strength." May that be true for all of us this Sunday.

By the way....does anyone want to share what their favorite Mother's Day gift to give or receive has been?