My mom is a y’all-using, cookie-baking, tear-wiping, soap opera-watching, fun-loving girlfriend. She isn’t just a friend, she is also my mama. She loves hard, hugs hard and spanks pretty hard too.
Many years ago, I was a sassy, headstrong tomboy who required a lot of discipline. She was famous for pulling switches off the local tree branch to discipline my misbehaving self. Christian friends, please don’t judge. That’s how we “train up a child” in the South.
Mom did all the things little girls depend on:
Back rubs,
Eskimo kisses,
Window shopping,
French braids,
Neighborhood walks and
Late night talks.
It was a year of princesses and pirate ships; however, I preferred Star Wars action figures. Chewbacca piloting the Millennium Falcon through galaxies far, far away was definitely my favorite. Mom shook her head but always encouraged me to follow my heart.
My stir-up pants came second to my football pants. I wore them a lot. Seemingly, they go with just about any shirt. Mom let me know when I was too old to play tackle football with the boys down the street. Only a real friend will tell you the truth even when it stings.
She let me wear her high school cheerleading uniform and prom queen crown for Halloween. She poked holes in my pickle jar so I could capture lightning bugs. We shot hoops in our driveway after school. She called the Avon lady and lets her do my colors. Despite the cosmetic guru’s opinion that red was not in my color pallet, mom said it always looked good on me.
At seven, she introduced me to Jesus. She held my sweaty, little girl palm as we sashay down the aisle together. “Accepting Jesus is the best decision you’ll ever make,” she said. “He is the ultimate friend.” She was absolutely right.
“Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you,”(John 15:15, NIV).
I am older now. I experienced physical abuse at the hand of my ex-husband. She, being both mom and friend, worried. She rushed to the hospital each time it happened.
When things didn’t work out, she wiped away the rivers of hurt that flooded my face. She didn’t say, “I told you so.” Instead she wept alongside me. She reassured me that God loves me even when I thought He didn't.
Friends catch us when we fall.
They help nurse old wounds.
They never leave us and they don’t give up. They love unconditionally and are always just a phone call away.
They pinky swear never to reveal our deepest hurts unless we ask them to.
Godly girls are good listeners, laugh at our jokes, encourage us in Jesus’ name, never let us attend pity parties alone, and always pick our side no matter how crazy we may seem.
My mom is a friend, a confidant, and a woman who reveres the Lord. She reflects the light of Jesus in everything she does. She is a truth teller; a Jesus follower; a Gospel spreader; and the ultimate grace girl.
God knew what He was doing the day He handpicked her to be my mom and my friend.
“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” (Proverbs 27:9, NIV)
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