Monday, December 18, 2006

I Will Never Fire You. . .

My mother. . . She is such a special lady. Her heart is for others. Selfless. For as long as I can remember she has lived outside herself, outside her comfort zone, outside our family, outside our social class. She has allowed no barriers in her work for God. Throughout my years growing up under her model, she has volunteered in too many ways to tell - everything from teaching a poor elderly man to read his first words to mentoring young girls in an inner-city elementary school. You see, her mother was the same way. My grandma in her 80's was still volunteering at the hospital, teaching a young hispanic girl English in an afterschool program, and hosting Bible studies in her home. And, I pray that I, too, will model this ministry of giving of myself to others, and that my sons will model it for their children. This is a legacy worth protecting.

This weekend my mother gave of herself by coming and watching my boys so that Erik and I could get away. I am so thankful for the time she gave us. She will never know how grateful I am! She works my home like a well-oiled machine. I came home to a house full of happy boys, new toys, and 4 loads of fresh clean laundry. She had taken them on a variety of fun outings. And, today they have been asking for Nana all day. I wonder why?

I called her mid-way through the weekend, and I asked what they were up to. . .

She said, "Well, I think we are going to go back to Wal-Mart."
So, I asked, "Why, you already went once?"
Mom said, "Well, Joshua needs something. . ."
I had to ask, "What?"
She answered, "Well, we got these engines (Thomas trains), and he needs some more. . ."
I quickly replied, "No, he doesn't. You are spoiling him. . ."
To which she asked, "If I spoil him, are you going to fire me?"

Joshua obviously overheard our conversation and pondered it for a while. Later at Wal-Mart Joshua and Nana had this conversation. . .

Out of the Blue, in the toy section of Wal-Mart, Joshua says: "Nana, don't just worry about Mommy firing you. . .Daughters can't fire mothers. . . Mommy won't fire you. . . She wouldn't do that. . ." My mom at this point thought he knew what being fired meant. . .

Then, he finished his thought. "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got fired. But, they disobeyed the king. . . Mommy isn't going to fire you. . . Don't just worry about it."

Thanks Mommy, for giving me a rare weekend alone with my love. And, don't just worry - I will never fire you!

8 comments:

Big Mama said...

Oh Erin, this made me laugh so hard. I certainly hope I never get fired like Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.

Anonymous said...

What an incredibly sweet story, it made me smile. =) I'm so glad that you got some alone time with your husband. Those weekends are too precious!!

Anonymous said...

What a sweet story! I'm so glad you had a weekend with your husband--how wonderful! Your mothers sounds so sweet! And your little boy--what a gem!

Kim

Linda said...

You really must print these up and save them in a little book somewhere Erin. I promise, you think you'll remember eveything and then you hit (well you know) and the old memory starts to go.
That is just so precious. I can't imagine what mental images were going through his little mind.
Your Mom sounds very special. You really must never fire her!

Anonymous said...

All of you are so precious:)

I remember meeting your mom the first time when Jen and I drove to Chattanooga to see you--so fun! She is a special lady!!

Amy said...

I saw where you said you didn't know how to tag somebody. I just learned myself so I thought I wold pass it on!

Type the name of the blog such as: Embracing My Cup

Left click and highlight the name

In the tool bar, click the link icon (should look like a link on a green world)

enter the url in the space provided
hit okay

It's easy once you know how to do it, huh?

Amy

Linda said...

Hi Erin, I hope you don't mind. I tagged you for a meme. No rush on it, but whenever you feel like it, it might be fun. Susie tagged me - and now I'm tagging you.
Have a great week.

Deidre said...

Wow! I'm so jealous that you got a weekend to yourselves - how wonderful. You have the sweetest boys. You never know what kids will say....that's priceless.


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Hi! I live in a sweet country home overflowing with love and laughter. I have been blessed to journey these days beside a man that I love, respect, and admire. He is my soul-mate and best friend. Together we are seeking to raise our seven children to be lovers of God, to be wise and discerning, and to be all that our sweet God created them to be.



 

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