If the Lord lets me live until Spring.

It was something my mother prefaced every plan she ever made with.. "If the Lord lets me live until Spring."

She wasn't being morbid only proclaiming what she held as absolute truth. She was not perfect as none of us are but she shared her faith and lived it to the best of her ability. You see, my mother was a worrier by nature and she knew that was contrary to God's plan for us. She fretted over whether things were done on time and correctly, was there anyone near her who didn't have enough to eat or could not pay their bills? It bothered her and at times kept her up at night. Another close held belief- Love your neighbor. I can still smell the thick paper grocery bags pulled from the cabinet where they were neatly stored. [Mama was not a "neat" person by any means.] She wasn't dirty but she liked things where she could see them. She made sure those bags were stored neatly away to be reused. She would hand me a couple grocery bags and tell me to get a good variety of canned goods from the cabinet, take the other bag and get meat from the freezer in the old pump house outside. Daddy raised hogs, hunted and fished and other relatives raised cattle. There was always a full freezer. Those bags would quietly without fanfare make their way to an appreciative family in the community. Close held belief- do not boast. Mama and daddy learned valuable life lessons as children of the Great Depression and one of the greatest was to save for what you needed. Mama would put away a little money for Christmas gifts throughout the year, she would save money for a car before she needed a newer one. I remember how she often felt guilty for having new things. I think that came from such a hard childhood. Then daddy would tell her "Mary, we work very hard for what we have, you do not have to feel guilty." She needed to hear those words. I never heard her boast of anything except her grandchildren.

Mama believed her Bible to be the inherent Word of God, from cover to cover. Divinely inspired as she would tell you, by humans from the Holy Spirit of God.

Another close held belief from God's word- That He supplies grace for each day. Mama struggled with this one. It is hard not to look ahead and make plans, it's hard to "know" you are going to be okay, that you children will be okay, that the world will be okay. To think each morning when I rise God has prepared a path for me and no matter how insignificant I feel, He has a plan for me. He will equip me for whatever task lie ahead.

Every day has its appointed trouble. But never more than you can bear by his grace. Every day will have mercies that are new every morning — mercies sufficient for that day’s trouble (Lamentations 3:22–23.)

He will not expect any good deed from you for which he does not supply all the grace you need (2 Corinthians 9:8.) I can't imagine what mama would think of these days we live in but I do know what she would tell me. God never asks anything of you that he doesn't prepare you for. There is no problem on the face of the earth, He doesn't have an answer to. God provides for our needs daily and He only requires that we trust Him. He is the answer to all our fears and struggles, even in 2020. My mama and daddy believed this to be true and I'm so grateful they instilled it in each of us. Life is hard right now and times are uncertain but . . . If the Lord lets me live until Spring.