Mother’s Day 2020. The sweet. I am so grateful for my children. They are an eternal blessing. Just last evening my 14-year old daughter Koah, was doing a school assignment. She had to recreate a famous masterpiece for art class. She chose to emulate the “Last Supper” so she and her brother Kyler started taking photo after photo with costumes and props.

Later in the evening Koah showed me the finished art and I start laughing so hard I began to cry.  See it for yourself below.

• 

At some point in the photo shoot, my older son, KJ came into the room and asked if he could have a piece of the pound cake I made from scratch on Friday. I said, “Shouldn’t there be some sort of Mother’s Day song before we cut it?” I thought he was going to turn the melody of “Happy Birthday to you” into “Happy Mother’s Day to you.” Instead he grabbed his phone and started to sing a song called “I love my mom” by Blake Rules.

The above is a snapshot of my life with my children; they are creative, smart, kind, funny, love me and their dad and most importantly, God.

I am so grateful to have the privilege to be their mom.

The Bitter. For many woman, Mother’s Day is especially hard. They long for children and don’t have them. The hurt from difficult memories with a mother who was not able to mother well or at all. And there are mothers whose child has preceded her in death. This is sadly my reality too.

Our daughter, Kennedy Anne Wilson, died after 25 days of life on September 29, 2003. She had such a short time of earth, but she changed my life forever. The days following her passing were so hard and bitter.

• 

Losing her placed me in a sisterhood of women that may be mourning as others are celebrating and I just want to acknowledge you and pray. Father please give beauty for ashes. In Jesus’ name.

The Bittersweet. So much of life is actually a mixture of these tastes and emotions. As my husband and I remember our moms, who are both with the Lord. We laugh above the funny things they did. How kind their affection was to each of us. How both moms stabilized us with their love. And we wish they were alive to see the antics of their grandchildren…and children. (As we miss our moms we acknowledge our “bonus” mom, Wanda Wilson. Happy Mother’s Day!)

• 

Ironically I was reading my Bible yesterday and the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 was covered. I believe there is a special mom hidden in the passage.

John chapter 6, verses 3-9 say “Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.

“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (NLT)

I often smile as I read this passage and think about a godly mom who says, Matthew, don’t forget to take your with you. I packed five loaves and two fish. Maybe the boy smiled as he ran out of the house. Or maybe he rolled his eyes, like five and loaves again. Maybe that was a very generous helping that could be shared. Or maybe is was barely enough to push away hunger pains until dinner.

But the account shows that this mom was raising a child who cared about the things of God, why else would he be listening to Jesus. We know he had some level of boldness as he spoke up and told Andrew about the specifics of his lunch.  And he was kind and did not keep it for himself, but had faith to give it as an offering to the Messiah.

After Jesus uses the lunch to feed the crowd of 5000 men, and the women and children that were also there.  Jesus has leftovers. I would bet that He made sure that at least one of the twelve baskets of leftovers was sent home with the young boy. And whether she was there on the hillside or at home, I bet he ran straight to his mom…

Today, April 23, is the first day of the 2020 NFL draft.

Ironically I happen to live in a suburb Cincinnati, Ohio and the Bengals have the first draft pick. But draft day is also personal to me because my dad – Allen Tyrone Smith, Sr. – was drafted by the New York Jets in 1965.

The J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets! were part of the American Football League back then. Maybe we didn’t even use that chant yet. I was about 13-months old and my daddy left Findley College early to make a living for my mom, his young wife, Lorraine and me. In a sense we were his first draft picks.

Though my dad wasn’t the top pick of that draft, like Joe Burrow is expected to be for the Bengals, I bet he was thrilled to be chosen. As will every young player who will be chosen.

Today also reminds me that I have been chosen to be part of a different team. This team has an amazing record. We could be called the Tribe… of Judah.

You see I am a draft pick of Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Jesus gave all, so that I could be a member of His Eternally-Winning team. And this is true of all who ^“declare with your mouth that, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV.

Perhaps this idea is the answer you are seeking as we all walk through this unprecedented season of living during the COVID 19 pandemic.

At the end of this year’s draft, there will be some young men who have yet to be drafted. Of course they will be disappointed and prayerfully their football dreams will continue is some way. But none of us need be left out of the most important and in the end – winning team. We only have to ask and believe in the One who is Number 1.

Have a blessed day and enjoy the draft tonight. Welcome to Cincinnati Joe Burrow!! I’ll be praying for your success on and off the field!

Kelly

As I start to write, I hope to write carefully and gingerly… I don’t want to create aggravation like I promised my friend Patty that I would not do way back in 2005. At that time we each had a 4^th grader, who is now 25 years old and we got to teach their class about the connections between “Passover” and Communion.

Patty is a Messianic Jew and she made sure that we would be reverent and accurate and true to Jewish culture. Since then, I have loved this celebration and had studied it so that we “gentiles” can celebrate it in a way that would honor Hebrew traditions, but also connect to Christ. So yes- it can be for non Jewish people.

Passover 2020 will begin on the evening of Wednesday April 8 and ends on the evening of Thursday April 16. Many people in Israel will eat the special meal, called a “Seder” meal on the first night. In other places people will eat the meal on the first or second night and maybe any night during these days.

The Seder meal is meant to commemorate the first “Passover” that is described in the Bible in Exodus 12:1-20. That first Passover occurred as God emancipated the Israelites from Egypt and gave them the freedom to worship Him as His nation.

I was fortunate to teach this celebration again at school when my daughter was a third grader in 2015. A group of mom’s each prepared one of the traditional items and we let the kiddos sample them. It was an absolute blast and they learned so much about the connection between Communion and Passover.

Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples right before His death and resurrection. This is described in Luke 22:7-22. And ironically in 2020 Passover is a few days before the Easter/Resurrection Celebration which is Sunday April 12.

Because of the corona-virus spread around the world, most of us won’t be at our regular church services…

But I’d like to encourage you to commemorate. Prayerfully you have at home some grape juice or wine along with bread or crackers that are made without yeast. In the original Passover there was no time for the bread to rise because the people were leaving quickly and also in many places in the Bible “yeast” is used as a symbol of sin. It spreads fast and people might not even be aware that it is lurking to take them off path. Hmmm…. sounds like COVID 19, but I digress.

May I encourage you to take communion on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning to celebrate the first Passover of death but also to remember Jesus, who is called “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” in John 1:29.

This Lamb gives us freedom from slavery to sin and gives those who believe in Him adoption into His family and life that is eternal.

If you are interested in learning more about celebrating Passover as a non-Jewish person, please let me know at Kelly@betterdaybetterlife.com

One last thing… I read the following this morning in Luke 12:8-9 NLT. Jesus says…

“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels.”

I had never connected this passage to the Passover until now. In order to be passed over by the angel who would be delivering God’s judgment, those who sought protection had to make a very public declaration.

They had to place blood from the lamb that was sacrificed and eaten, over the door frame and side posts of their homes.

This would be a show of total dependence on God. It would show humility in that they needed God’s protection and favor. It showed that they would do things His way – even though it didn’t make sense in the non-spiritual realm. It also that they were turning away from the provision and protection of Egypt, a symbol of the world’s power and system.

So as part of my celebration – I am placing some red tulle on my front door as a show that I am trusting Christ for everything. (It’s not sophisticated. I’m using a CHRISTmas wreath holder to secure it.) But my red covering declares that: He will protect and provide for me and my family; He will care for and rebuild our community, city, state, country, world, when the comes; He will heal the sick; He will strengthen and encourage believers all over the world – and He is inviting anyone who wants to come – to come into His Kingdom – by the pathway opened by the Lamb.

Blessings to you and yours-

Kelly