HAUNTED

Is your mother in your head?

• "Wash your hands, brush your teeth."
• "Mend that hem, don't use a safety pin."
• "Raggedy underwear? Un-uh. Never!"
• "The kitchen isn't clean until the counters are wiped down."

My favorite saying from my mom when I was going through tough stuff was, "You'll live through it, Honey, but you won't look the same!"

And then there was Dad. Why do I think of him whenever I get to the bottom of the toothpaste tube? Having lived through the difficult Depression, Dad always insisted we squeeze out the very last bit of toothpaste.

Dad also said, "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right." No slackers allowed.

Bill & Marge Faris--my parents who lovingly "haunt" me, even today!

As moms and dads we work hard to "get into" our kids' heads. There's so much to teach: compassion, kindness, hygiene, work ethics, self-discipline, etc. Part of our job is "haunting" them...in a good way.


The June 2nd devotional in My Utmost for his Highest by Oswald Chambers really touched my heart. Here are the powerful sentences that grabbed me:

• "The whole of our life inside and out is to be absolutely haunted by the presence of God."
• "If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in, no cares, no tribulation, no anxieties."
• "We see now why Our Lord so emphasized the sin of worry."
• "To be haunted by God is to have an effective barricade against all the onslaughts of the enemy."

And then this:

"'God is our Refuge'--nothing can come through that shelter."

When I allow worry to envelop me, it affects my sleep, appetite, joy, energy--even my face! It paralyzes me. That's why these lines from the devotional speak to me.

May we all be haunted by God, who loves us and know us better than even our moms!