Be the Matriarch!

Great Gramma Swihart

I remember when, as a child, I first became aware that death was a reality. What a horrible reality it was! When would it happen? How? Who would I be with? Would I die alone? Would I “die before I woke” as in the bedtime prayer? I thought of all the people I would miss, all the things I wanted to do and be. At the age of only six, eight, nine, I had goals of being a wife, a mother, having a career, changing the world.

I’m sure this onslaught of thought about life came with my first experience of death. My great grandmother was a beautiful soul. She loved the Lord. She loved people. She was truly the matriarch of our family. The table was always set, just in case a visitor was hungry. And, if you weren’t hungry when you arrived, her cooking and canning were certain to whet the appetite! To complete the perfect picture, you would find her in a creaky wooden rocker, tipping back and forth, with her long silver hair twisted like silk and perched upon her head. She lived a long full life. A blessed life. A life that blessed others.

Moses stood before the Israelites and announced his retirement, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you.” The reason for retirement may appear at face value to be a no-brainer: he was old. But the real reason was disobedience to God. Not all the time. Not very much of the time. But enough to prevent this great patriarch from crossing into the Promised Land.

When God offered, through Moses, the choice of life and death, blessings and curses to the Israelites, Moses knew the full impact of both. Choosing life and blessings was summed up in this heart desire of God:

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands… then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you…

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient…you will certainly be destroyed…

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life…” -Deut. 30:15-20

These are the choices I am making today. Will you make this covenant with God along with me?

Choose Life.

I will live to honor and please God and keep His commands. I will be attentive to His voice that speaks softly in my ear and tugs at my heart and be obedient to what He says. I will seek forgiveness when I am disobedient. I will strive to keep my heart totally devoted to Him.

Choose Love.

I will love God with my entire heart. I know that by doing this, loving others will be easy because His love will overflow in me.  I want the heart of God to beat in the very depth of my soul. I want to make room for Christ, living and breathing in me through His Holy Spirit.

Choose Blessings.

I acknowledge that everything I say and do is important. I can speak blessings or curses. I will listen to the words that flow from my mouth. Rather than cursing my children with negativity and failure, I will be a positive, Godly example for the generations to come.

I will rise up and BE THE MATRIARCH of my family!

In the name of Jesus, I pray LIFE, LOVE, BLESSINGS over you this day!