This is the second year I get to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mom! And the first year I’m actually aware that I’m a mom! We found out we were pregnant just a week after last year’s Mother’s Day! My, how peeing on a stick can change your life!
There was something about getting pregnant – and then having a baby – that truly transformed me. Priorities, hopes, dreams, fears – they all changed with the knowledge that I was to care for the precious baby God had graciously given me. It also made me reflect much more on my childhood and the way I was raised by my parents. Like every other parent on the face of this planet, my folks made their parenting mistakes. But by the grace of God, I can truthfully say that the things they did right vastly outweigh everything else, and they did a wonderful job in raising 3 girls into 3 confident women who do not have to go to therapy for a lifetime (and MOST importantly, love the Lord). I trust that it is with the same grace that He will help me to do the same.
The older I get, the more I realize how unique, unconventional, and beautifully radical my parents were and are. In no particular order, here are some valuable things I learned from Mom and Dad:
-Confidence: My parents are confidence personified. Growing up, my sisters and I would always tease my mom for her interesting habits. Like, why, oh why, Mother, must you dance in public to the music playing at Macy’s? Or why, oh why, must you wear that neon orange shirt, with those bright purple pants that have crazy prints on them, and those black open toed sandals…with the chunky white sports socks…to the grocery store? (Clearly, my mother did not need VOGUE magazine to tell her that neon colors and “colorblocking” were “in” this season. ) Her answer? “Your dad thinks I’m sexy.” OK then. End of conversation. On a more serious note, my parents regularly reminded us to find our hope and confidence in Jesus. My dad in particular would bring us back to the truth that nothing in all the world could separate us from the steadfast love of Christ, that there is no condemnation for those in Him, and that all things work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8). Their unshakable confidence in God's love and faithfulness at the cross affected every part of their lives.
-Trust in the Lord: My mom and dad are people who trust in the Lord. And I have watched them keep their trust in Him through the good times and bad. Unlike other immigrant families I know, my parents did not come to the U.S. to climb any career ladders or to seek success. My dad already had a job as a VP of a bank and also served as a senior pastor of our home church in Manila, and my mom ran her own business. It was a HUGE leap of faith to leave the comforts of their family, finances, and familiarity to move their 3 daughters (then aged 8, 6, and 1 years old) across the world simply because after months of prayer and petition, they believed this move was the next step the Lord wanted them to take (you can ask them to tell you the long story later). Today, I try to put myself in their 1993 shoes and am stunned by their firm trust in the Lord to provide and to care for our family despite all the what if’s and unknowns.
-WIT - Whatever It Takes: My parents left lucrative, stable jobs in the Philippines to pick up multiple jobs working retail at Toys R Us and a china shop, the front desk at Comfort Inn, driving the shuttle at Marriott Hotel, telemarketing, etc when we first arrived in the States. As the eldest child, I had a front row seat to their conversations and decision-making processes, and I honestly cannot remember a time they grumbled about these circumstances. I am in awe of the humility it especially took for my Dad to go from working as a bank executive to checking people in at a hotel. I am amazed by the selflessness it took for my mom to go from running her own business and being a stay-at-home mom to working multiple jobs around the clock in retail. But truth be told, there really was no complaining or whining about it. They took on a whatever-it-takes attitude, so they could provide for their children.
-A Nothing-Less-Than-Your-Very-Best Hard-Work Ethic: Mom and Dad pushed us to try our very best in everything that we did, challenging us to NEVER settle for or accept anything less than being the best we could be. What truly spoke volumes, however, was how they practically applied the same principle to their own personal lives. Growing up, I watched my parents patiently build their lives in the U.S., and I know they remained prayerful through it all. As I mentioned above, I was amazed at the way my parents left successful careers to take on jobs they were obviously overqualified for. Today, I am equally amazed at how the Lord blessed my parents (among many other things) with solid careers again, even though that wasn’t their original intention. Through the same tireless hard-work ethic they instilled in us, my parents went from working minimum wage paying jobs to managerial professions. My mom is back in accounting, and my dad is back to working as VP of a local bank. AND by God’s mercy, he is also back to living out his calling as a pastor (he's bi-vocational). A lot of people may think I am impractical or overly idealistic with the kinds of goals I set for myself and with the overall attitude I have on life. I do not think that is the case at all. I just know from watching my parents all these years that with God, all things really are possible.
-Non-Materialism: Mom and Dad are by far some of the most non-materialistic people I know in the world. Even when they had/have all the means to, there was absolutely never any desire whatsoever to "keep up with the Joneses." I remember all the dinky TVs we had growing up - including one that you could only change channels by using a pair of PLIERS...I am not kidding! It's not that my parents couldn't afford to buy another TV with more than 3 channels, they just really did not even care! It just wasn't on their radar. Growing up under their roof, I watched my parents give more money than they spent on themselves. As my mom likes to say, "Give until it hurts!" I also remember my dad admonishing us from 1 John 2: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever!" This was a passage my dad had printed on a piece of paper, framed, and visibly displayed in our home. Considering the fact that both my parents work in finance, I praise Jesus for all the ways they really drove the point home: You only have ONE Master. You cannot serve both God and money! (Matthew 6)
-New Life: My parents did not come to faith in Christ until later in life. So they of all people can tell you what a drastic and beautifully radical change they experienced in their hearts, minds, and lives when they finally called upon Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It's a long and wonderful story of God's redemption that I wish everyone can hear. (Maybe I'll get my Dad and Mom to be "guest bloggers" and share their life stories on this blog sometime!) I cannot ever remember my parents being the uptight, straightlaced, "religious" types. Instead I saw them enjoy and embrace their freedom in Christ and their thankfulness for His salvation and the forgiveness of their sins through the cross. Because of this, Jesus was always REAL to me. After all, I clearly saw how REAL Jesus was to them! My parents did not introduce me to a "set of religious beliefs" or a Christian paradigm of thou-shalt's and shalt-not's. Rather they introduced me to the PERSON of Jesus Christ, and that is how I fell in love with Him. To this day, I will never forget the ONLY time I ever saw my dad cry as a little girl - it was when he shared his testimony with us, how God saved him from the destructive life he was living to the NEW LIFE and the cleansing and forgiveness he has FREELY found in the undeserved, amazing grace of Christ. I will never forget that.
Stay tuned for more lessons from my mom and dad! Maybe tomorrow, God and baby willing! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment