Saturday, October 31, 2009

a cup of cold water

dear emily,

i just read margaret jones' witty and sensible posting on being sane and single. she has the spirit of jane austen in her!

in responding to your worries about being a wise and loving mommy to your four precious children, i have been prodded back to sweet days that i treasure. oh, to have one of my little ones bouncing on my knee again! thankfully, i occasionally have yours to fill that role.

hans used to tell me that i was a cup of cold water to our children. most days i felt like lukewarm dishwater! there was never an end to diapers to be changed, meals to be prepared, or knees to be bandaged and kissed. after falling into the rocker to nurse the baby, an older child would inevitably want me to read him a story or get him a cup of water.

that is when i felt the weakest and most impatient. i would lean into the
Lord and ask for strength and grace, and He would amply supply that
need. then we would settle into another chapter of "the fantastic mr. fox"
...and fill another cup of water.

and, of course, He would fill another cup for me, too.

matthew 10:42
'if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, i tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks so much.

Anonymous said...

I was having trouble leaving comments--got it worked out. Amazing stuff--you are gifted and I'm so glad you're passing along your gifts--your wisdom--to me. It is changing the next generation...Thank you.

Single and Sane said...

You are such an encouragement to so many people, Lea. Love your blog!

Hannah said...

Lea,

I read your entire blog tonight. It is so encouraging! What a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with all of us.

MyMaracas said...

You have a beautiful blog here. Glad I found it -- thanks so much for your kind comment at mine.

Inday said...

I found your blog by accident and perhaps it is meant to be. Very inspirational. By the way, I added yours to my favourite link in my main blog.

At this time, I don't mind, if someone will hand me a cup of cold water ...it is sweltering hot here! Our Summer which is your winter. :)

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

I'll put this comment way back here, at the beginning. You'll be notified that you have a new comment, I hope. But lots of people may not come back this far to read, everything. So it may be sort of our little secret. :-)

You see, I'm Agnostic. And yet I appreciate your gentle way of blogging. Probably because it IS gentle. You have your Faith and you speak of your Faith, but you don't make the reader feel that if they don't share your Faith, they are doomed or something. Guess it's all in the way it's done. :-)

I simply can't read the very heavily religious blogs. They thump us over the head with their Faith. They make others feel excluded. They sound [may I say?] so very smug and like they know-it-all. And this doesn't exactly win my applause. Or my readership.

Which is funny, because they probably very much wish they could "speak to" someone like me... Someone they'd feel is in NEED of their ideas. And yet, they turn me off, right at the git-go. Funny that, hu?

But you don't Preach. You don't sound Smug. You don't look down on others.

And so, I read you. :-)

Which [that I read you] is no great shakes to you, necessarily. Just saying this... As a way of saying, you have a lovely way with blogging a Faith Filled Blog. And I want to compliment you on so doing.

Gentle hugs,
Aunt Amelia