Happy Mother’s Day everyone.  Many of us aren’t moms but we all have one or had one and I do celebrate the wonderful mom I had plus the example she set for me day in and day out.

As I was reading my devotional this morning:  Every Day in His Presence by Charles F. Stanley, I was challenged to ask Jesus why a couple situations of late were so troubling to me.  It said in the devotional to specifically ask Jesus why someone’s name causes you to have ill feelings whatever the “ill” may be.  When this happens it goes on to say, “do not ignore the feeling, but ask Christ what it means.”  I did this actually for three situations involving three different people.  Wouldn’t you know that I not only got a very clear response to it, but I also was given one other name where I have ill feelings.  The disgusting thing for me to hear is that in each case it involved my pride and my judgment.  I needed to confess my pride and judgment as sin.  I asked The Holy Spirit to replace it with His fruit of the Spirit.  These people are dear to me and I’d never want to pass along my judgment instead of the Spirit’s love, joy, peace, etc.

As I was journaling all of this from the above paragraph I recognized a quality within my mom that I truly want to emulate.  She was such a great model of the Holy Spirit’s fruit.  She was always loving and forgiving as well as welcoming and nurturing.  I also recognized just how much I hate seeing sin within me.  It is now confessed and forgiven.  So, I am going to walk into this day as a new creation ready to lift people up that come across the path of the day.  I look forward to what God has in store for this Mother’s Day.