99

Recently at church in Sunday School we had a lesson with parables. I LOVE parables! I look for them all the time. I even write my own parables with lessons that I have learned in my life. (Someday I will have to share my parable about the quilt that I never finished because I kept doing it wrong…it was very profound for me. ..seriously, a quilt!)

I have often thought about the parable of the Shepherd and the 99. That the shepherd will go after the wandering sheep that has lost its way. It always bothered me. Why go after the stupid sheep that obviously weren’t smart enough to stay where it was suppose to. Survival of the fittest right?!? Those other sheep that did what they were told deserved to be with the Shepherd. Right?

My favorite parable EVER is of the prodigal son. I think that is why I love the story of A Christmas Carol, the story is a beautiful example of it never being to late to see the goodness in others. I can’t wait for the holiday season so that I can watch my various selections of the film A Christmas Carol. I pretty much watch one just about everyday. Plus we read it together and I listen to it on audio. Yep..I love that story…

The other day we were watching and episode of BBC’s Planet Earth and these two parables came face to face with me. Yep, I was getting inspiration while watching the animals in the grassland. Its never conventional for me is it?!

The particular part was about this massive migration of caribou (I call them Santa’s reindeer but apparently they are different). A wolf was also looking for some dinner. The herd was the obvious place to find its next meal. The wolf proceeded to go after a deer/caribou. The narrator then proceeded to talk about how the wolf wanted to get one of the weaker deer/caribous separated from the herd because it would be easier to conquer without the protection of the others.

DING DING DING! Did you get that?

When we are away from the herd, we are weaker and more likely to get ourselves caught by a wolf, or by Satan at least. Satan is trying to get us away from the herd since we will not be as safe and will most likely fall.

I love this picture. When a lamb wanders off, the shepherd will go anywhere to save it. They are the ones that are found in the most danger.

So if we are the deer, and Satan is the wolf, then what is the herd in the parable? Well…if could be family, or church but ultimately I believe it is the Savior. Can we be any safer in the Shepherd’s arms?

Which brought me to the original parable. I felt as if water was being splashed on my face when I realized that the Savior was going after the lost sheep and leaving the herd because that was when the lamb was in the most danger.

(I wish you could hear the bells going off in my head…you don’t get quite the same effect reading them....)

WHAM!

That was when I realized that I am the lost sheep. I have never placed myself in that position of the parable. I always assumed that the Savior was going after the "big time" sinners. Not so much the ones that were trying to follow him. ( I have SO much to learn.)

I am the prodigal child that the savior has gone out to save. I am Ebenezer who has only realized partially of what I have been blind to. The Savior will continue to rescue me to the safety of the herd and I will do my best to not to wiggle out of his arms. I still need saved from my sins. My shepherd will save me.

Not only that, but he is doing the same for you. He is doing it for all of us. He is waiting to hold us in his arms and carry us to safety if we just let him.

I wonder what I’ll learn next week in Sunday School….

Why I hate Mother's day.

Ahh Mother’s Day. The day that everyone takes a moment to say wonderful beautiful things about their mom. Today on facebook I saw the following comments

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful moms out there!!!”

Happy Mothers Day to all you beautiful Mothers!

☼ ♥ If you have an amazing MOTHER, put this as your status♥ ☼

(Let it be said that although I did not make a similar post, I love my mom TONS! She is amazing!)! It is obvious that people love their mothers’ and love mother’s day. Mother’s love the breakfast in bed with the freshly squeezed juice, the homemade card, the house delightfully clean with not a dirty dish in sight . All mothers love spending the day relaxing in the sun, reading a favorite book, not changing any diapers, and their feet are massaged all day long. Ahhh…I love those days.

Actually, today I confessed something to Cory. I hate Mother’s day. Well “hate” may be a too strong of a word. Perhaps its just a bitter feeling that I have. Why do I feel this way?? I think I figured it out.

For years I have dreaded mother’s day. When it was approaching, the advertising would drive me insane! In my pre-mom years, I was a florist. Mother’s day was THE MOTHER of flower days. The people would call and have us select, arrange, and deliver their vases of love to their mothers. Some of them would comment about the obligation of doing something for their mother, others would specifically have flowers sent to their mother so that they wouldn’t have to approach or call them themselves. Gah. It wasn’t always a loving atmosphere. Now, the day has become so hyped up that I don’t know how any mom can survive the day without a myriad of guilt for expecting but not receiving THE perfect Hallmark day as described above.

Oh wait. You didn’t have a foot massage all day either? Were you one of the lucky mom’s that didn’t have to wash the dishes tonight? Did this lack of a perfect day for such a hard working mom, such as yourself, cause any tension in the household?

THAT is why I don’t like Mother’s day. Those feelings do nothing to improve the relationships in any family.

Mother’s day was created by a few different people. One was Julia Howe, she was a pacifist that wanted to organize the mothers to stop war. The other one was Ann Jarvis who wanted to organize the mothers to improve sanitary and health conditions. Interestingly, Ann’s daughter Anna, was the one who was able to make it an official holiday. Then, later in life, she became its biggest opponent saying that it had become to commercialized and just a reason to sell cards. She even said she regretted lobbying for the holiday.

Then, the kingpin himself, Pres. Wilson declared it a holiday in 1914. When I learned that President Wilson was behind mother’s day I KNEW there was something wrong with it. Pres. Wilson did so much against the constitution that anything he touched with his signature had the prowess of destroying the country someday. A little to strong of an opinion? Umm…nope. So what was his motivation behind mother’s day? Some sources say that he originally declared Mother’s Day to recognize the mother’s whose sons were lost at war. Perhaps that was his motivation. I really don’t know. His wife had been sick at the time and passed away shortly after the declaration, perhaps that was his motivation. I do know that all of the other policy he passed and declared, have been under the view that "the U.S. Constitution prevents the government from meeting the country's needs by enumerating rights that the government may not infringe." ... in other words, you are not smart enough to make the decisions to take care of yourself, you need the government to do that for you and the constitution is in the way! (Sorry everyone! This was not suppose to be a rant on Pres. Wison.) I’m just saying, that according to the pattern he had set with his other policies, there is a good chance that he used the same motivation with this one. Was he saying that we don’t appreciate our mothers and so we need a gov’t holiday to do it? idk…do you appreciate your mom on other days besides the one issued by the gov’t?

Today for mother’s day I was not home with my kids. We were at my sister’s house far far away enjoying their company and my parents. It was a blast!! Her home is always one of my favorite places to go. As we were there, I don’t think any of my kids remembered it was Mother’s day as none of them said anything to me concerning it. They were having fun with their cousins and then they were being whisked off to my parents farm for a week.

I was sitting in church trying to justify myself for being grumpy over the lack of Mother’s day spirit around me. Where were the trumpets as I walked? Where were the cascades of flower petals that shouted to the world how great of a mother I am? Where is the chocolate, the fancy dinners, and the shouts of praise from my family??? As I was pondering, a great realization came over me. My boys and my husband have made me breakfast in bed at least once a month over the past year. They have massaged my feet endless times. They have made me homemade cards that tell me how much they love me. They have given me the best hugs. They have even washed the dishes without being told. So why would I be upset if it didn’t happen today? Does that mean that they love me less? Heck no. Why do I need a government holiday to dictate when my boys can express their love for their mom and why do I need commercials to tell me how my boys can express their love???

Is it nice to be remembered and recognized on Mother’s day? Of course, but that doesn’t define the only time that we should remember our mothers. I have been wondering how it would be different without a holiday for mothers. Would it be like when we take care of the sick and afflicted? When they need something, we help them, take care of their needs, and not wait to be told when and how to do it?

On Christmas we think of the Savior and his life, is this the only day we think of him? If it is, then you are missing out on so many blessings. It is the same with Mother’s day. If you only think of doing nice things for your mom on mother’s day, or are just facebooking your Mother’s day message to her, you are missing out.

Is this an entry of a embittered mom who didn’t get all she wanted for Mother’s day? Ha! No way! I am one of the lucky ones who get bits and pieces of Mother’s day all throughout the year.