Happy Birthday

Today, Christmas day, is my mom's 60th birthday. Being at my parents home the past few days has really got me thinking about what my mom has taught me and how our relationship has been redeemed in the past 5 years or so. It is inevitable that parents will wound us, and my mom has been no exception. But what is amazing about my mom is how she has been an instigator of change and reconcilation in the same areas that were such wounds to me. So I decided to make up a quick list of the most important things I learned from my mom in the past few years.

1. You are never to old to completely change your life for the better.

My mom will freely admit that this time of her life is the best time of her life. She is more alive and more of who she was made to be than ever before. Most of this process of change started in her 50's.

2. The more secure you are in who God made you to be, the easier it is to express grace and kindness.

Over the last year or so, my wife and I have been amazed at how kind and giving my mom is. I never noticed it before. She was always a nice person and willing to sacrifice for others, but now she has the confidence to be abundantly personal, and I have benefited from the intention of this. I have begun to see this in my own life, that I really am much nicer and more giving than I thought I was.

3. When you are with someone who is fully present, everyone benefits.

My mom has become a person of intention and candor. She is less afraid to share her opinions, and she is never slow to acknowledge goodness and growth in others. Her presence in a group of people, has opened up conversations and relationships in ways I didn't know mothers could.