Monday Musings on All Things Southern

Southern mama's are known for many things. The way they cook. They strength they hold deep within the core of them; it shows itself at various times. Some expected. Some odd. Their passion for life. For their spouse, house, and children. The touch they place in every room of the home. They are the cheerleaders at sporting events. They sit and wait in the car while their children take piano lessons and ballet lessons and during soccer practice ...or football and baseball. Or, they gather together and organize fund-raising events with the other parents. They are the backyard picnic-ers and the dining room hostesses.

I could go on and on... seriously. But there is one other fact I must share. They are the pray-ers. They pray over their lives with fierceness.

This weekend my brother and I made one last stab at cleaning out the final bookcases and closets of our mother's home. Within one of her Bibles we found a prayer list she had made, typed up, and apparently prayed over. Within the list were items concerning:

Her spiritual life (that her life be completely led by the Spirit).
Her physical body (that her renewed health remain so she could do the work of the Lord).
Her financial situation (she prayed both for the work to come and her ability to perform it).
Her emotional state (she asked God to teach her to relax more, to cast all her cares on Him).
Her family (that her children grow closer to each other and be drawn to a personal relationship with God, that we feel His presence, rely on His judgments, and for spiritual awakening).

I found the list and prayer. I read it out loud to my brother, then looked at him and said, "Do you realize every single prayer request was answered?"

"Every one," he affirmed.

To note, Mother prayed Malachi 3: 10,11 before and over the other requests.

If you are a mother (Southern or not) or, yes, a father, allow me to suggest you do the same. Find a verse of Scripture. Pray it over your circumstances. Type it out (or write it out), and keep it somewhere close by. Know that one day, this will be a legacy your children will make copies of, hold dear to their hearts.

And know that God is in the business of answering prayer...

One of the last things I whispered to my mother before she took her final breath was this, "Mother, you don't have to worry about Van and me anymore...we are so close now...and we are going to be fine. Go on...we'll be not too far behind..."

In her final moments, I believe she heard. It was the last answer she needed to receive on this earth. Praise Him for that...