3 Major Life Lessons from Mom
Mom (Nell Ruth Hopes) passed away two years ago on February 26, 2017 after her battle with Lewey Body Dementia. During her sixty-nine years, she taught me some invaluable lessons that have made and will continue to make a difference in my life and thus consequently in the lives of those I interact with. I hope they do the same for you, too.
Lesson #1 LIVE YOUR LIFE PURPOSEFULLY
So many of us wander aimlessly through our lives, wasting time on silly, trivial stuff that won't matter in the long run. How many of us today worried about what someone thought of us, and we don't even know them? How many of us spent hours on social media today, peering into the lives of others while our own families and friends were neglected and ignored by us? As a Christian, I've been created primarily to show the love of Jesus to everyone I meet by how I treat them. Mom had a great amount of emotional pain and baggage she carried in her soul throughout her life due to an extremely difficult childhood, but that didn't stop her from spending lots of time with her family for most of her life (even with the ones who hurt her the most). She loved her family as best she could with what she had. What's your purpose? What's that deep yearning in your soul that you need to tend to so that you'll have peace and fulfill the dreams that are in your heart?
Lesson #2 IT'S BETTER TO FAIL THAN NOT TRY AT ALL
How many of us wish we had done something years ago but never did, and now we're wondering what life would be like had we just done "that thing?" Whether it was to marry "the one that got away," try that new job or career, move to a different state or country, start a small business, go back to school to get that degree, or learn that new trade, the list is endless of the many things we wanted to try but didn't, usually due to fear. We've got to push ourselves to listen to the Holy Spirit when He nudges our hearts to go in a particular direction. We have to decide that failure benefits us way more than our comfort zones do. When we look back, we see that many of our best times and successes were when we DID take that risk. My mom was a gifted woman who could sew, make beautiful butterfly crafts and hair bows, and who could cook a downright delicious peach cobbler and sweet potato pie. She could also speak sign language and could've started a career doing that. Yet, when I encouraged her to try using her talents to launch a small business or try a new career, she never did. I am seizing opportunities now like never before, because I don't want to have any regrets later, or wonder just how far I could've gone had I ventured out of the "box" I created for myself. What do you really want to try today but have been putting it off for too long? Go do it! Take one step towards that dream now, even if it's just writing your dream on a piece of paper and hanging it in your closet to see everyday until you take the second step, and then the third step, etc, etc. Just take a step and start. You can do it.
Lesson #3 LET THE PAST GO & FORGIVE...FOR REAL!
I know you've heard this lesson before. The problem is that most of us ignore it. My mom's childhood, young adult, and adult life were all filled with physical and emotional abuse and heartache. As an African-American, she faced ugly, evil racism constantly. As a woman, she dealt with the nastiness of sexism. As a human being, she endured the typical meanness and stress of life that we all deal with on a daily basis. From mom, I've seen just how serious letting my past hurts and memories go is...for real, so that I can have the opportunity to receive the blessings God has for me today. Refusing to let go of the bitterness will only hurt me, my family and friends, and my destiny. I choose to move on, releasing the torment that comes with unforgiveness. What about you? Who will you forgive right now, allowing yourself to have peace? It may seem impossible, but when you think about the fact that not forgiving hurts you way more than it does the other person (who may not even care if you were hurt by them or not), it opens your eyes to the urgency of you moving towards healing and freedom by releasing that person or people to God and making the choice to not hold a grudge against them anymore, for your own sake.
We all are here for a reason. We all have different gifts, unique desires/visions, and specific purposes to accomplish. Let's choose to live consciously each day, rejecting the norm of mindless distractions and time spent on worthless things. I miss my mom physically being here with me, but her lessons will stay with me forever. I'm grateful.
