I'm a full-time mummy

I read a blog post (I'm sorry but I couldn't find the post anymore no matter how hard I googled for it) a couple of years ago about this lady who prayed for her very very sick mother. Of how sad and heartbreaking for her to see her mother lying on the bed in pain. Of how she prays and prays for her mother to get well and yes, her mother did get well, but only for a while as not long after that, her mother fell more sick and in more pain before finally succumbing to her sickness. The post goes on with how the lady regretted and felt sad with her mother's passing. She realised that she should have prayed for God's will instead of hers. She thought of how God had planned for the way things are to be, only to be interrupted by her own prayers for her mother to get well, and eventually causing more sufferings to her mother.

When I first read this post, I asked myself how could God do this? And to her poor mother?  But after some serious thoughts on this, I realised something. You may disagree with what I'm going to say here.

I mean, think of it this way, if you know your beloved pet is going to die and you have no way to cure or heal it, what would you do?

Will you pray for it to have a swift and painless death? Or you would rather it just hangs on and you keep hoping for miracle and refusing to accept the fact that it's going to leave you?

Everytime something bad happens, the following came into my mind...

But we, as human, we think we have the power and the rights for things to be done our way.

We pray to God to spare the life of our loved ones, to heal them, to make them well again, to take the pain away, so on and so forth and we forgot about the part that everything is under the control of Him.

We think that God will listen and will answer our prayers. Of course God will answer our prayers! Read: Luke 11:10 (NIV)

But think again! Is it what God wanted? Is what YOU wanted, agreeable by Him? Read: Psalm 119:36 (NIV)

At this point now, you may say "Easy for you to say full-time mummy! You're not the one with the sick / dying / terribly in pain loved ones / friends / etc here!"

I will just like to tell you that it is not easy for me to say this but I did. Twice.

When my dad lies in the hospital bed drifting in and out of consciousness while the doctors are still struggling to find out what's wrong with him, I prayed for God's will.

When the nurses rushed in to resuscitate my dad as I stood outside his bed with my last memory of seeing the flat line on the heart rate monitor, I prayed for God's will.

When my mum lies in the hospital bed in so much pain that all I could hear was her troubled and difficult breathing through the oxygen mask, I prayed for God's will.

When the specialists stood next to my mum whispering to each other that her kidneys are still failing and that there's nothing much they can do, I prayed for God's will.

Despite how badly I needed to see my dad and my mum getting well and back on their feet again and for everything to return to the way it was, I prayed for God's will.

Despite how badly I wanted God to heal them and hoping that everything is going to be fine and dandy again, I prayed for God's will.

Read: Revelation 4:11 (NIV)

I pray that if it is their time to go, oh God please do it as swiftly and as painlessly as He possibly could.

I pray that if it is not their time yet, please God, let them get well again.

I pray that no matter what is the outcome, I trust that He knows what is right and what is best for ALL of us.

I trust and surrender to His will and will accept it no matter what is going to happen.

I told my dad and my mum I love them, I told them Jesus loves them and I told them to have faith and not to worry about us.

I am not asking for you guys to pray for God to end the lives of your loved ones just because you see them in pain and suffering. I am asking you guys to pray for His will. Forget about ours. You can pray for healing and everything, but remember to put God's will at the top most priority in your prayers. He knows what's best.

And please don't think that I want God to end my parent's lives. Just think, does it do anybody good if my parents end up suffering more (and longer) just because of my selfish need for them to get well and continue living and for everything to be a-oh-kay again instead of God's plan for them to move ahead and go up there and be with Him?

All I know is I am glad that my parents have got the chance to accept Him before they passed away.

I am glad that I'm able to tell them I love them and not to worry about me and the rest of us anymore.

I am glad and comforted that they are no longer in pain and suffering anymore.

I am glad that they are up there with Him.

So, please remember, pray for God's will to be done, not ours...

As part of the BookSneeze Blogger Reviewer program, I'm always on the look out for good Christian books. When I received the early invitation to review the latest books from Max Lucado, I immediately jump at the chance and monitored the time when the opportunity is available.

Here is my review of the latest book from Max Lucado entitled "OUTLIVE YOUR LIFE: YOU WERE MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE"

Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 14, 2010)
ISBN: 978-0849920691
Hardcover: 240 pages
Dimension: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches

Excerpts taken from Amazon product description:

"These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did."

I'm already so inspired just by reading the fable of "Finding Father Benjamin"! This book is awesome! I love the part where Lucado said "You've been given your life. No one else has your version. You'll never meet anyone who has your exact blend of lineage, loves and longings. Your life will never be lived by anyone else." I totally agree with this statement!

Also, the sentence on "goodness that outlasts the grave,  love that outlasts the final breath" resonates deeply within me. Yes, I want my life to matter! I want to be able to leave something meaningful when it's time for me to go one day.

In chapter 2 (Calling Mr. Pot Roast), I am totally blown away by the inspiring work of Edith, Joe, Liz and Caleb. The sentence on "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called" is so inspiring. I hope that I could contribute to the work of our Lord even though I'm a mere SAHM now. And I am reminded again with the verse from the bible (also mentioned at the end of chapter 2) which is: 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (NIV) "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

As for the rest of the chapters, all are equivalently inspiring and leave me pondering whether I am making the most out of my life. Please do get a copy of this book and read for yourself to know more. This is a must read!

You can get the Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference book from Amazon website or directly from Max Lucado's website.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book by Book Sneeze in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

Yesterday morning, during a balcony playtime with Ben in his water pool, I learned this parenting lesson. I googled the sentence and found nothing, so this quote is MINE! Muahahahahah!! * evil chuckle *

Seeing the look of joy on your child's face as he happily splashes around in a water pool is enough to make me happy.

And when he just chills and relaxes by himself in the pool...

No money can buy these look of happiness on my boy's face...

Thank you God for giving us Benjamin!

Read: John 16:24 (NIV), Psalm 28:7 (NIV), Psalm 126:3 (NIV)