Wednesday Wisdom

I am pleased to introduce another of my She Speaks sisters. Kimberly Rae is an encourager! She is always quick to respond with prayer, optimism or Scripture. She has a big heart and I hope you enjoy her responses as much as I did.

Mama Always said…

 1. What is your life verse? What does it mean to you?

Zephaniah 3:17  This verse changed the way I saw God.  I used to worry all the time that I was disappointing Him, but when I read this verse, especially the part about Him singing over me, I finally really recognized His beautiful, unconditional love.  Mothers sing over their babies as they rock them to sleep—those babies that have done nothing for the mother as of yet, those babies that are loved beyond all reason simply because they belong to that mother.  God loves me like that.

2. I realized I was my mother when...

I think it was the first time I felt a baby moving inside me.  It was such a light touch, like butterfly wings, but every time I felt it, it reminded me that my life was changing forever.

3. I know now, but I wish I knew then...

That my worth isn’t based on what or how much I do.  I don’t need to prove myself all the time—in fact, everybody is better off when I stop stressing myself out doing too much, and instead rest in the Lord enough to be content and at peace.  My whole family benefits when I stop trying to prove myself and let some things go.

4. What is one thing you do just for you to relax and refresh?

I write.  Maybe years down the road that will feel like work, but for now, being a stay-at-home mom, getting away for an evening to write is a real break for me!

5. By now, I thought I would...

Be thriving on the mission field, involving my kids in our work, having a biography-worthy life in ministry.  Instead, I have chronic health problems, am a stay-at-home mom (and writer on the side) in the US, and I’m going to Emory next week to talk with a neurosurgeon about brain surgery.  Not what I’d expected, that’s for sure!

6. In the midst of the chaos a special trick that helps me cope...

Getting outside somewhere where all I can see in every direction is God’s beauty (nothing man-made).  It’s a visual way of getting myself back into God’s perspective and timing, not the rush and harshness of man’s world.

7. If I could go back for one day...

I’d go back to Bangladesh, find my friend who lived on the side of the road with her baby girl (I found out later the woman was a prostitute) and, knowing now that I’d never see her again, I would give her the Gospel in her language so she could read about God’s love for her.

8. The best advice I ever received about being a Mom...

I am responsible for training my kids for adulthood and for eternity.  That certainly puts things in perspective!  I’m not just training and disciplining them to keep my household controlled today—there is much more at stake here.

9. Don't worry about...

Anything!  The God of the universe loves you so much He knows how many hairs you have on your head.  If He keeps track of a detail as tiny and insignificant as that, we don’t need to worry about any small or big thing in our lives!!!

10. A perfect day for me...

Oh, wow, what a question!  I have to admit what comes to mind would be waking up after brain surgery and finding out that the health problems I’ve had for the past 15 years are over, that I’ll be able to go hiking in the mountains again. And hey, since we’re dreaming, I’d add a nice long backrub from my husband, dinner out to a great restaurant, and those last 8 pounds I’m trying to lose magically falling off me without effort!

The spiritual side of me says a perfect day would be finding out that our Muslim friends around the world turned to Jesus for salvation.  That would top being healthy, or skinny, any day.

Kimberly Rae has lived in several countries overseas.  She has been published over 100 times, has rafted the Nile River, and has eaten cow brains just to say she’d done it!  Her first novel, Stolen Woman, about international human trafficking and missions, was released this summer. Find out more at www.stolenwoman.org or visit Kimberly’s blog at www.stolenwoman.blogspot.com.