Yesterday, I had a tough conversation with my aged mother. I was prompted to give her a call and ask a very difficult question which I had to develop tenderly so as not to offend or put her on guard. I had to ask her if I was wanted…
During prayer time, I kept feeling that all too familiar
sense of a dark place deep in my soul trying to rise up again to distract and
crush me; that sad one that evokes a sense of being alone even when I’m truly
not alone. It creates a self focus that
is unhealthy. Wanting no more to do with
that place I cried out to God, “What is this?”
I felt Him say I had to be willing to look squarely at it; however ugly
it may be. I took a breath for courage
and said, “Yes.” I then felt compelled
to call my mother.
Her raspy, “Hello,” with the tell-tale sounds of 83 years on
this earth greeted me. I made a very
conscious effort to construct my question carefully so as not to put her off
but encourage an honest answer. Truth
has escaped some dialogue with my mom in her effort to at times, create her own safe
haven of unreality which she has accepted as truth, as it is the place she
feels most comfortable and unthreatened.
I began to develop the reason for my call stating I had to
ask her a very difficult question but that I needed her to be honest. I promised that I would not take offense to
her answer as I totally understand how we do our best in every stage of life
with what we have been dealt and with how we are equipped at the time. I shared that I would have handled some things
in my life differently had I known then what I know now. I then checked myself to brace and keep my
promise of no offense or hurt regardless of what I heard and asked her, “Mom,
when you found out you were pregnant with me, did you want me, or when I was a
small child was I wanted?”
I must admit that I am astounded that I still need any reassurance or deliverance in this area at all because the Lord has had time to deliver me of much from my childhood. I can only express that we each are like an onion, layer upon layer of stinky stuff that just has to continually be pealed until the very core is reached. We have victory at each level and then the Lord begins pealing off more, continuously stretching us and revealing hidden things we didn't know existed until He prepares our hearts to be able to look.
She cleared
her throat and asked me why I was asking her such a thing. Those tears of deliverance that had begun
earlier in prayer time with my Father, reappeared and began to pour out as I
tried to express my heart’s ache; that I just have a sense of being alone a lot
in childhood. My memories are that I was
never told, “I love you, Kim,” until much later in life after formative years
had passed. I had no memory of being
held, cuddled, and bundled up in arms that can’t seem to get enough of you like
I did with my children and now with my darling grandchildren.
I expected her to try to make excuses for why she didn’t
want to be pregnant or have a second child.
After all, I would have understood the overwhelm she must have felt with
a husband who was absent and emotionally unavailable. I would have understood the shame and torment
of dealing with an alcoholic in that same man. I would have felt confirmed in
my belief of her that she just really wasn’t a woman who wanted children but
was a career woman instead. But what I
heard coming out of her mouth was to the contrary. She stated she did in fact want me and that
she was happy to be pregnant again after the four year break between my brother
and me. She was especially excited to
now have a girl since she already had a boy.
Something didn’t resonate because if that was the truth then
why did I have the memory of childhood which I have battled and vowed to NEVER
instill in my own children’s lives? I
was determined that I would be a loving, nurturing mother; that my children
would NEVER feel alone or unwanted; that
they would not only have my arms wrapped around them, but my lips would smother
them in kisses and speak affirming words of love continuously. As their tiny lives developed, they would be
secure in the knowledge of my love and adoration for them.
I had to admit, I felt a bit disappointed in her stance
which denied what I have felt all my life.
Now I was confused. How, if she
truly wanted me, could my emotional development have been so unhealthy with
insecurity, disappointment, frustration, self pity and self-blame? As I silently asked my Father in heaven,
“What now,” I sensed that I was to be still and the answer would begin to pour
out of her mouth like the tears poured from my eyes moments earlier.
In her own searching of why I would ask such a thing, she
began to share what life from her perspective was like in her marriage to my
father. Again, I checked my emotions and
judgment at the door of the Lord’s heart, to help me remain neutral and
supportive of her in order to provide a safe place for her so she could speak
freely.
To my surprise, which created a new found empathy for my
mom, I heard her tell of stories of verbal and physical abuse by my father, one
such event sending her to the hospital with the loss of her hearing due to a
blow to the head. I heard of my father’s
intimidation to force her to sign documents creating business deals which ended
badly even resulting in the loss of our house.
Her walls of self preservation came tumbling down as, for the next hour, I heard her recounting days of her own
childhood in which her parents were harsh with her and that she never remembers
being told, “I love you”. She couldn’t
remember feeling loved with the affection parents should bestow on their
children to give them a sense of security in the love that we all need to develop
soundly. She made the same vow I had
voiced myself, “I will never be like my parents.”
My eyes widened at that because she was in fact just like
them! With such a heart posture, how
then did she emulate the very same thing in my life? I did not confess what was on my mind and pressed
my lips together tightly so I wouldn’t spew what was trying so desperately to come
forth from my own mouth. I continued to
listen and she continued to reveal stories I have never heard and which would
have died with her when she is called home, if not shared.
She confessed that she remembered only one time she felt
such love for all of us that it gave her hope that we could be a real
family. There it was…what I suspected
all along…as I also only remember one time of “feeling” that gush of overwhelming
love that feels like warm liquid running through your entire being, including
the deepest places where love resides.
If she was only cognoscente of feeling that love once, then she was
lacking the love for family which is normal and healthy. I know this because I experience that amazing
love too many times to count for my husband, children and grandchildren. That’s not to say you always, “feel” love,
because let’s be honest, there are times you don’t feel anything but disgust,
anger, hopelessness, heart ache, but you still know that you love your family member. There are times that true love must kick in
until the storm or trial passes and you feel love again. There are times we just have to be patient,
kind, not easily offended or envious, and not counter what just hurt us with
more evil or rudeness. I have clung to
the familiar wedding passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 many times when my “feelings”
of love were snatched away for a time. Sometimes
I am successful with this love walk but sometimes I fail miserably.
Mom then proceeded to tell me of my father’s childhood. My grandfather, whom I never knew due to a
heart attack before I was born, was harsh with his words. Living on a farm, Dad felt alone and headed
for the city at his first opportunity to escape what he despised. She then informed me Dad was terribly insecure. Even though I had heard shocking details
throughout this conversation, this was the most I was stunned and my jaw
dropped with my mouth gaping open for what seemed an eternity as her words
reverberated over and over in my mind. I NEVER perceived
my father as insecure. As a child, I deceptively
saw him as strong with the false empowerment of alcohol, and then later, upon
sobering up and accepting Jesus to save, heal and deliver him, I knew him to be
strong but in a gentle and self controlled manner. Mom continued with recounts of his struggles
to be a successful business man and the power he actually did possess in the Kansas City market
area. This was only to be for a season
as the empire he built come crashing down to bad deals and dealings with bad
people.
I don't know if those stories are true or not, as I have heard much in the past which wasn't, but it still softened my heart toward her as her perception is her reality.
I don't know if those stories are true or not, as I have heard much in the past which wasn't, but it still softened my heart toward her as her perception is her reality.
In this time with my mom she gave me the confirmation I
needed to know I wasn’t conjuring up false memories of feeling alone and
unloved. There was legitimate reason for
the enemy of insecurity of which I have battled to have entrance into our lives. I was a product of generational curses. Only God knows how much has been repeated in
the blood lines of my parents. In the
beauty of my Lord, however, upon my vow that I would not be like my mom in how
I parented my children, my Lord gave me the gift of grace which would be all
the empowerment I would need; sufficient to overcome my childhood and become
the parent my children needed. It was my choice to receive that grace and run with it and I thank Him that I did. The Lord
was my model parent since I had no such knowledge of how to do that. I haven't been the perfect parent, because no such being exists, with the exception of Father God. He gave me an ear to hear His wisdom for
specific instruction with each child so they could grow up safely and knowing
Him, which is the most important gift and responsibility we have as parents. In this, they will be able to carry on
walking with the One who is Life in their own garden of life.
It was time for the call to end. I assured my mom of my love for her, and hung
up to the sound of her tears which earlier had poured from me. My heart is tender now for my mom. How much easier it is to understand why
people are the way they are once we have the answer as to why they are the way
they are!
I finished my private time with my Lord to allow Him to purge
the past and help me to just let it all go once and for all. I
have my answer and I don’t need to keep replaying it. As deep calls unto deep,
I can let the Lord have this deep place and fill it with more of Him. He is
calling me to higher levels with each step up the mountain of God. I am in the Refiner’s fire, which is painful
but good as it is perfecting that which concerns me. I have no reason to be insecure and am equipped to deal with the temptation to return should I sense it trying to creep back. I can talk to myself the way my Love talks to me: I am my Beloved's and He is mine, I am
accepted unconditionally by Him even though He sees every terrible thing
still needing His touch.
We each are given choices in this life. We can continue with
what is harmful or we can choose to go with what brings health and life. Sometimes it’s tough to let go of the anger,
frustration, self pity, unforgiveness or whatever else is in the way of our
freedom, but it is imperative to our receiving the blessings of joy and peace. There are going to be times in each of
our lives when we have opportunity to feel insecure. We need to make
the choice to not believe the lies being whispered in our ear by the
enemy who wants our focus to be on ourselves, looking down, so we will
miss what we could have had if we had just been looking up. So in answer to my original question, "Am I wanted" the answer for each of us is a resounding, "YES!" from the very heart of God.
I smiled as He touched my heart one more time to confirm and
reassure me with last night's performance on Jimmy Fallon they sang,
“Let it Go” using children’s classroom instruments. How simple…
Excerpts from "Let It Go"
The snow glows white
on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be
seen
A kingdom of
isolation,
And it looks like I’m
the queen.
The wind is howling
like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in,
heaven knows I tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you
always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel,
don’t let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back
anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam
the door
I don’t care
What they’re going to
say
Let the storm rage
on,
The cold never
bothered me anyway
It’s funny how some
distance
Makes everything seem
small
And the fears that
once controlled me
Can’t get to me at
all
It’s time to see what
I can do
To test the limits
and break through
I’m free
I’m never going back,
The past is in the
past
Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like
the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is
gone
Here I stand
In the light…
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