Again, I do not have to put a lot of thought into this question. I had two names pop into my head. My sweet 7 year old boy, Daniel, who has not yet made a commitment to follow Jesus. The other name is that of half sister, Tammy.
Daniel is an easy one. What Christian mother would not want to see all her children come to faith in Jesus. I have had the awesome privilege of personally praying with two of my children to come to know Christ personally. Two others have made the decision on their own or with their father. Daniel has not yet come to a decision and it is on my heart to really pray for him this year. It has also been in Esther's heart for Daniel to come to know Christ. She is very concerned and prays for him and talks about it often. My desire is for The Lord to prick his heart this year so that he comes to a faith in Christ.
My sister, Tammy on the other hand is a whole different story. Both of my parents came to Christ later in life. My dad was married before he met my mom and thus, my half sister. We did not have contact with her growing up. That was her mother's choice and later hers. We tried to communicate with them but to no avail. She did come to live with us when she was in her late teens but she refused to abide by the rules my parents set forth. With three young girls in the house and their new faith in Christ, they gave her a choice. Abide by the rules or leave. She chose to leave. It broke my father's heart. Later she claimed to have come to know The Lord and the lines of communication were once again opened. We got to spend a few years getting to know them. She attended my wedding and got to meet my first two boys. We don't know what happened but she started drifting away and eventually became vehement that we have no contact with her. We tried talking to her, writing her letter but she cut us off. We especially wanted to contact her a few years ago when my dad found out he had leukemia. She ignored our calls and letters. Again, my father was devastated. I have always prayed for her but this Christmas season The Lord just greatly burdened my heat for her, her husband, and her two children. We recently discovered that my father has two other grandchildren that he had no idea about. I recently found her on Facebook and sent her a message. She has not responded but I am praying she will. She did send my older sister a Christmas card this year so we are encouraged that the doors may be opening. She has told us before the she wants nothing to do with us if we mention God. That is hard when God is the center of my life. I pray that the lines of communication would be opened this year and that we can start to grow a relationship with her and her family. My desire is to see her come to faith in Christ along with her whole family.
Three things I am thankful for today:
22. Dusky light - the excitement in my husband and children's voices as they went out and looked at the clear night approaching and all the stars coming out last night.
23. Surprising reflection - the anger I see in my children that is a reflection if the anger in me. It makes me want to draw closer to God so I can have victory and then help them overcome the anger too.
24. Lovely shadow - we have a cross in our yard that my husband built. When the sun hits it the right way there is a beautiful shadow we get o see.
I love Carl because he made Sam feel so special last night.
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