The ‘ID’!
I opened the drawer of the desk and found Mom’s Identity with her checkbook. Many cards showed who Anna Daisy Siemens used to be. I found this picture, too, and memories poured from my heart.
I found cards testifying her membership in the Freelance Writers Network, the VIP of Super 8 Motel, Member of National Rural Letter Carriers’ Auxiliary, and a part of Friends of Rogers Historical Museum. A Social Security card, Health Insurance, and Rural Carrier Benefit Plan. But nowhere could I find the Identity of Mom’s heart except in the memories of how she lived.
There isn’t room on a card to show Mom’s hopes, dreams, and deep desires. Her life meant more than the scant information on any of the cards.
One card I found was a Lifetime Fishing card. She told me that when the farm chores were finished, she and her sister, Alma, dug in the rich black Kansas earth, to find several worms. The girls grabbed their cane fishing poles and raced to the small muddy creek in the pasture. On one trip, Mom fell into the creek. Her feet, stuck in the mud, seemed ready to pull her under. Mom held her chin high out of the water to escape drowning. Alma pulled her out of the water.
Another ID card hinted at Mother’s love for words and writing. They didn’t speak of the nights when words woke her up until she recorded them in a notebook by her bed. The ID cards could not tell of her love for the Suderman family or reveal the time she spent researching the genealogy of her parents and grandparents when they lived in Russia. Mother told me one day while working on the book, “I spent the day with Mama.”
The book, The Lines Are Fallen, became a reality. Yet, a limited printing and soon there were no more copies were available. Thanks to my daughter, Anna K. Payne, Mother’s book was republished in 2018. The title of the Mom’s book is taken from Psalm 16:6 – KJV, The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. This book is filled with the testimony of faith in Jesus Christ.
Mother’s earthly identification does not reveal her deepest desire to bring all her children, and grandchildren to Jesus. Every facet of her life held the joy of Jesus and serving Him every waking moment through all the of her activities – baking, teaching, gardening, canning, writing, playing the piano or organ for countless weddings, church services, and funerals. No one could steal her spiritual identity in Christ! It’s written on her heart, not on paper.
Mom once made a prop for a play for my brother Jim in a school play. With barbed wire, cardboard, and wood, this prop could be wheeled into place on the stage. Mother made my dresser, desk, and bed, too. There was no end to her desire to create.
We often make ‘I have, I like, I am, and I remember’ statements, yet it is who we are in Jesus that makes the difference in our lives. It is in I Peter 2:9-10, we understand just who we are that counts. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people, now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
When this world ends, what counts? That Jesus chose and loves us. He offers grace and mercy. This is our identity when we believe in Him. There are no printed cards, we have a heart filled with faith, hope, and love for our Jesus who died on the cross. He said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. John 19:30.
Jesus cleared the way to be with God. Our identity rests in our Lord Jesus Christ for eternity. No renewal cards need. This truth is written in Lamentations 3:22-24 – The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!”
We may lose our earthly identification cards, and yet Romans 8:38-39 gives us the assurance that is ours for an eternity!
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Romans 48:17
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