Monday's Mom: Lele Griesheimer

: Created on Monday, 31 October 2011 14:00; Written by Nathalie

Hey Afterbelly readers! I’m Lele-a southern girl at heart, wife to Eric of almost 3 years and mother to Laney (16 months old). But most importantly I’m a daughter of the PERFECT father and I’m very excited to share my story with y’all!

Ok, I said I was excited, but honestly I kinda have this pit in my stomach and somehow find myself slightly nervous/scared to share with you what the heart of being a mother is to me. You see, I am the oldest of four kids and I have a wonderful mother and a father who is, well…we’re working on it. Growing up, I always thought we had this picture perfect family. I have this beautiful momma, handsome dad, great looking siblings, we lived in a big nice house, drove nice cars, etc. You get my point…When I was a senior in high school my world came crashing down on me. My mom sat me down and told me that my dad was leaving. Leaving?!? What?!! Where was he going?!? I hate to even share this part because I know that God has a plan and a redemptive purpose in each of our lives, but here are the facts: he was cheating, stealing, using drugs, gambling, and drinking. It was bad. He pretty much left us with nothing. We were evicted from our house and scrambling to make it through each day. I spent my college years trying to get a grip on my relationship with God because I just couldn’t understand how a father could abandon his children. It had a deep impact on my ability to trust others and to even trust God.

Somewhere in the midst of my unsettledness God began to reveal Himself to me in a radical way. He somehow stepped in, beyond the realm of time, and began to heal me of my inability to see Him as Father. He began to show me how He was the perfect Father.

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

As He was healing me, I prayed that He would somehow redeem this in my life. That He would give me a tangible example of what a good (not perfect) father looked like. Flash forward several years, and there I was laying on a table in a dark room with icky goo all over my stomach, holding the hand of my husband and waiting for the ultra-sound technician to give us the news of whether the child in my womb was a girl or a boy. When she showed us that it was a little girl living inside me tears began to roll down my cheeks because I knew this was the beginning of redemption in my life. Every day I see my husband light up at the sight of our daughter, or tell her that she’s beautiful, or laugh with her, or tickle her I’m reminded of how good our Heavenly Father is. Seeing Him as Father is by no means easy and simple for me now, He’s still at work, but it’s getting easier every day. I’m beyond thankful to Him for the blessing of my husband and for the added blessing of our daughter, Laney. And as for my relationship with my earthly father, it’s healing. We’ve learned the heart of forgiveness and it’s getting better day-by-day.

My blog: Just Showed Up (www.ericandlele.blogspot.com)
photo credit: Nathan Westerfield (www.nathanwesterfield.com)