Marilyn's Mussings

When I begin a new document, I start with minimum but equal margins and full justification. Can you picture the page full of print? God has been speaking to me lately about that page. In some ways it is a picture of the life of today's woman. The page holds obligations, commitments, and other time eating activities. Most of them are good. Still, the page is full! On the best of days, life runs smoothly as scheduled. People and activities move in and out on cue. We finish the day with satisfaction and a sense of completion.  However,  if any one unexpected thing is added, or if something happens to alter what is already there, life begins slipping off the page. We frantically try to find more time in what we know is an already full, finite, twenty-four hour day. Sleep becomes the sacrifice. The world has told us we can do it all and just like Eve, we have swallowed that apple. Watch this retro-commercial from the late seventies. It is one of those that settled into the mind...

I was reading about Hannah this morning in First Samuel. After years of not being able to conceive, Hannah promised the LORD that if He would give her a son, she would give that son back to Him. God did indeed give Hannah and Elkanah a son whom they named Samuel. When Samuel was three years old, Hannah took him to the temple to live with Eli. She gave him back to the LORD. As a young adult, I prayed that I would have the faith of Hannah. As a mother, I was amazed at Hannah's faith. I found myself giving my children back to God over and over again. Maybe Hannah did that too in those first fleeting years. But maybe, through her inability to conceive, she learned early the profound truth that mothers struggle to hold. Our children are not ours at all, and they never have been. They are His. When a sweet baby is born, the professionals tell us that the baby doesn't quite know where he stops and mom begins. The bond that the new mother has with her baby makes that distinction fuzz...

This Christmas was different for me. . . for a lot of reasons . . . some I understand, some I suppose I never will. But I love the Christmas season usually. I love the atmosphere. I love the anticipation. I love the weather. I love the idea of people looking for the very best gift for someone they love. I love being in the crowds and busyness. And I love the focus on Christ. I love that the whole world celebrates Jesus! This year was different. Somehow, December took on a life of its own and just drug me along. I didn't get my Christmas music out. I didn't get my Christmas cards out. I didn't stand in the crowds and breath in the atmosphere. I didn't get to tell anyone the Christmas story. Something was off. Christmas just kind of came and went before I knew what happened. I guess the first Christmas kind of came and went before most people knew what happened. The birth of Jesus was not dependent on who was ready or who knew what was happening. There was no vote, no...

I was driving down the highway recently and started up a small hill, when I noticed the car in the lane next to me was pushing hard to make it up that hill. This was not a mountain but a slight, gradual rise in the road. My little Honda took it with no effort. As I passed the struggling car, I noticed it was also a Honda, but a Honda that had experienced a lot of abuse. From what I could see, three of the four corners of the car were dented. The wheels bowed out and wobbled like cartoon wheels. The paint was peeling and the fabric from the inside ceiling hung in strips. The back bumper was completely gone. I stopped to turn left and as the car sputtered past me, I noticed the license plate frame proudly proclaimed " LEXUS ." I wanted to laugh but the sight was just too sad. I think maybe we are like that car, traveling in massive contradictions. Most of us have experienced hurt whether it is visible or not. Some push hard through the hurt. Some stick a sign on it, hoping n...

". . . He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him." Mark 1:19-20 I love this scripture and the picture in draws in my mind of two adult men with their father. Jesus said come and they dropped everything. What a thrilling experience for those two young men. I have prayed that for my children, that they drop everything and go with Jesus wherever He wants them. In my later years, I think about Zebedee. He was there too. I wonder if he prayed for his boys. Scripture doesn't tell us much about Zebedee, but what it does tell us is that he was their Daddy and they helped him fish. For me, the best part of fishing with my daddy was the time we spent together. Zebedee must have spent hours of time with his boys. This morning I received pictures I had made of my family in July. It is late afternoon and I have done little else th...

There is no way to estimate the amount of money I have spent on Diet Dr. Pepper in my life time. It has been my favorite and a constant companion for years. You could always find it in my refrigerator and see it at the end of my arm. But them something very strange happened. It all started when my oldest grandson started drinking water. I would give him his little sippy cup and he would eagerly guzzle that water like it was his life source, and then sighed with great satisfaction when he finished! The more I watched him, the more I thought, "I believe I need some of that water!" So I began drinking water. The more water I drank, the more I liked it and the more I wanted. As it turns out it is really good for you. But you probably already knew that, right? This new appetite I acquired led me to think about our spiritual appetites. Do you ever spend time with people who love feasting on the Word of God. You can just tell that they have "been with Jesus." (Acts 4...

My family comes home for the Fourth of July. This year I put out a jigsaw puzzle of Lady Liberty. We love jigsaw puzzles. It is a great non-competitive, non-threatening place around which to congregate. No ones knows how long it has been since you found a piece to fit (except for the sudden exclamations of "I finally found one!") and conversation is easy. They helped me with Lady Liberty while they were here, but I was left to finish all the blue sky alone.  There are two issues here that you may notice, both of which slowed down the progress of finishing the puzzle. My sister gave me the puzzle and she has a dog who might very well have enjoyed the puzzle before me. There is a piece completely missing just under her arm and there is a  "chewed up" piece in the top right corner. Here's the problem with that. I looked everywhere for the missing piece and tried desperately to make other pieces fit in the empty place. Worse than that, I completely ignored the che...

It was our first Independence Day in Birmingham. The day had been busy and fun so we thought we would top it off with a low key observation of fireworks. We had heard that they did a great show from Vulcan Park called "Thunder on the Mountain." We left home about thirty minutes early thinking we would go to a building top, but noticed almost immediately that traffic was creeping along like rush hour going in the wrong direction. Miles before our destination, traffic was almost completely stopped and people were pulling over to the median and the side of the road. We managed to find a place to park just in time to hear the police come by with a loud speaker telling people they were not allowed to park in the street. This was a bigger deal than we knew. In the end, "Thunder on the Mountain" was great. We had gotten as close as we could and got to see the fireworks leap into the sky. Someone turned up the accompanying music on their car radio and it seemed all of us ...

Mama Sue came into my life when I was a young wife and she was there when I found out I was expecting my first child. I knew nothing about babies and I shared with her my fear that I would not know what to do with my own child. With calm words and a confident smile she said, "God will put it in your heart." She told me that many times prior to the arrival of my baby girl. When she came to hold her for the first time, I could not wait to tell her, through tears, "God put it in my heart! He really did!" Then I watched with gratitude as she snuggled my little pink bundle in her arms. I knew she had shared with me the key to parenting and it was God Himself. I only had the blessing of time with Mama Sue for a few years before God moved us to another city, but they were crucial years. She poured into me truths that have impacted my walk with God and my role as a mother. I'm pretty sure it was not intentional. She was being a mother and walking with God. I went al...

Dear child, I was your mother long before I was this child’s grandmother. We have gone on a long and wonderful journey together. From the first time I held you in my arms, you have been stretching for your independence. I cheered you on as you took each monumental step and helped you establish ownership of your life. As you pushed me away with one hand, you pulled me close with the other until as we found the delicate balance between your need for both my affirmation and my respect of your boundaries. Now you have a journey of your own. You have the privilege and responsibility of pouring your life into your little ones as I poured my life into you. They too, are already stretching for independence and as you help them establish ownership of their lives, I am still cheering you on with each monumental step. My joy for you is only exceeded by my pride in you as you embrace the responsibility. I am Nana, but I am and will always be your mother, the roll I cherished first. I love you.