Better Late Than Never

Mama Says 

Joel 2:12-13 CEV

Mama was “all about” being on time. Since she didn’t sit down from morning till night, and she worked at

lightening fast speed she expected me to be at the same speed.

Mama didn’t understand that when I got dressed in the morning I had to determine what color clothes

matched my feelings and my mood that day. Remember I am personality type B. I an an orator and an

artist.I still do that to this day. Today I am sporting a navy skirt and a sky blue, tan and orange shirt. I’m a

little torn because I cannot  find my tan summer sandals because I packed them away last fall so I’m not

sure what shoes I’ll wear. You get the idea.

When I was a child mama didn’t understand that the color of my clothes and shoes had to be “right” for

my mood. I never understood why she didn’t “get” that. It seemed perfectly logical to me.

So by the time I showed up to announce my presence she would say, “better late than never. Come on…

let’s go,”

Fortunately my brother was already gone because he walked to school. I didn’t “get” to walk to school

because I was a girl. I thought that was terribly unfair.

By the time I was in junior high I had my clothes and shoes set up in my closet so they were color coded .

That way if it was a red day I had everything red in the same place. I was still not on time because now

that I was in junior high school I had to “fix” my hair. My hair was always long but now I had to decide if I

would leave it long, do a high pony tail, or a low pony tail. There were many many decisions to be made

and very little time to make them.

At this point in time mama must have told daddy that I was driving her crazy because he started working

with me on the decision making thing. My dad told me that God could help me make decisions. He taught

me to pray when I first got up and God would help me. He said even if I have trouble at school I can pray

to myself to I remember to rely on God.

Learning to rely on God has been a lifetime lesson and I still remind myself I’m not alone. I can rely on

God. Daddy knew I would forget things sometimes and he said as soon as I remember and turn to God, I

can count on God being there…every time. Daddy read the prophets a lot so I knew I needed to read the

prophets as well.

Joel 2:12-13 tells us, “The Lord said: It isn't too late. You can still return to me with all your heart. Start crying and mourning! Go without eating. Don't rip your clothes to show your sorrow. Instead, turn back to me with broken hearts. I am merciful, kind, and caring. I don't easily lose my temper, and I don't like to punish.”

As I write this, Daddy has been gone almost 35 years but I still remember all the lessons he taught me

about relying on God. I know even when I’m “better late than never” because I could find the right shoes

to match my outfit that God smiles and helps me to find them. God is good to remind me where I put

them.

Deborah

acrazyjourney.com