Godly Parents

So this week at NewSpring, my home church, we started a new series called "Don't Get Married Until..." for singles and engaged couples on preparation for marriage. Sunday was "Don't get married until you hear from God". There were so many great moments during the sermon, but one that really stuck out to me was when Perry (the pastor at NewSpring) addressed the parents. Here's a link to what I'm talking about... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8q2o-y_hF0 I highly suggest checking it out if you have time.

Anyway, being a parent is something I have always looked forward to (one day a long time from now...haha). And there are many times I come across people and think "weren't you raised with more manners than that?" or something to that effect. Perry touched on this during the sermon. He gave the example of mom's that try to be "the cool mom" to their young daughters and dad's that don't teach their sons to respect their mother and other women. Without a second passing, I thought to myself...SO GLAD I HAD THE GODLY PARENTS HE'S DESCRIBING! Naturally there have been millions of times I'm sure that my parents have annoyed me, as I do them or we disagree, but regardless of all that, I cherish them so much and am so thankful they were the ones God chose to raise me.

My mom is a rock. I've seen her deal with a lot in her life and watched her handle every circumstance. I think she gets that from her mom, who raised 4 amazing children as well as my cousin as a single mother after the death of my grandfather. We aren't promised that times will always be easy, but you do the best you can with what you have, something my grandmother taught me when I was little. My mom has dealt with a lot in life, just like anyone else, but through it all, she stands. When my dad was diagnosed with two completely separate cancers and her mother was told she had a brain tumor...my mom, although I'm sure terrified like the rest of us, was there for the rest of us, always making sure my brother and I were alright. At the same time, growing up she was a mother to Jeremy and I...and that was priority number one. It's because of that mentality, and not trying to be the "cool mom" that has brought us to where we are not. At the age of 23, my mom is one of my best friends and someone I actually enjoy hanging out with, shopping with, having coffee and talking with...something I'm so grateful for!

As for my dad...I definitely grew up a "daddy's girl". My mom always tells us we are "two peas in a pod" and she's right on point. My dad and I have always "been on the same page" with a lot of things. My love of sports started with my dad. I remember growing up and going to Clemson football and basketball games as a family...especially football. Always stopping at KFC or something in Easley on our way to Clemson to grab lunch and parking near this giant tree on the campus. Unloading our picnic table and having lunch as a family and then Jeremy and I climbing in that giant tree...then throwing football around with dad for a while before heading over to the stadium to cheer on our tigers! From there it was baseball and basketball...with dad as my coach. He always knew exactly what to say to encourage me, motivate me, or piss me off just enough to make me a better athlete. :) Even when I got to high school and college and dad went from being my coach to on of my biggest fans, he still knew the right things to say...always helping me analyze the game. My mom memorable time was when dad told our family he had been diagnosed with cancer...to this day I'm not sure how he did that. It was as if it wasn't a big deal...I don't know how scared he was on the inside...tons I'm sure...but he never, not even for a second, wavered in his faith. He knew that God could take that cancer away at anytime and would if that's what was His plan. He prayed over our family and the doctors he was working with and that was all it took. His faith inspires me and taught me the type of dependence on Christ I wanted my future husband to have. One of the points Perry made in his sermon was about dad's "dating their daughters" and being the man that tells them they are beautiful so that when some guy comes along and tells them...they already know :) . This is something else I have cherished over the years. Both of my parents always compliment me..but something I remember from when I was little was dad bringing mom flowers and bringing me one as well. Flowers from daddy never gets old.

I feel like this blog was so scattered with random thoughts, but that's just what they were...random thoughts of gratefulness I had while watching the sermon...I'm so thankful for the Godly parents that I've been blessed with and I wouldn't trade them for anything! Also, if you want to see the entire sermon, you can watch it online at www.newspring.cc