With Organization

The first friend I ever had in my life was my mom. God picked her just for me and as you know, He doesn't make mistakes.

 Her name is Chris Puckett and she is three years older than my dad. (as a chatty toddler I loved telling everyone this) She has four children and I am the eldest. (Also a fact I love to remind my siblings of often) She was orphaned at the age of four when her parents were killed in a landslide. She was raised by her grandparents until they too passed away.

 She met my dad in college and they have been married for almost 45 years. They started out in life pretty poor monetarily, but then my father got a good job in the corporate world and things were quite well for many years. They both became Christians in college and always went to church. They raised us kids to love the Lord and to find ways to serve others whenever we could. Scott, my husband, has the Proverbs 31 chapter in his Bible marked as the "Amy" chapter. (He did this before we were married. haha) My mom's name is on this chapter in my Bible.
About mid way through their busy life, God called my father to quit his very reliable job and go in to the ministry. They have both now been in ministry for roughly 20 years. My dad is an administrative pastor and he and my mom do most of the biblical counseling at our church. (Avalon Hills Bible Church)

Rod and Chris Puckett

 I tell you all this, so that you will understand when I share with you that my mom has served and helped thousands of people, and yet she has taken time out of her very busy life to be my friend. (Not just my mom, but my friend) She couldn't do everything she does and still be all she is to me, unless she was organized. The definition of organized is having one's affairs in order so as to deal with them efficiently. I realize that this might sound like a cold word when describing your mother, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because of her disciplined organizational skills she has made herself available to me. She keeps her "stuff" to a minimum so she has time in her life for more important things. One huge example of what this looks like is her actual home. In order to keep life simple, she and my dad have built a 680 square foot living space connected to our house. No, they are not invalid or poor. They just wanted to downsize in order to be a help to us and others. With less home to care for, they have freed up time and money to do what they love, to be available.

 

 If you have ever read the Mitford series, by Jan Karon, then you have met them. My father closely resembles Father Tim and my mom, Cynthia. Just today I knocked on their door and asked for a good recipe for roasting a chicken. Mom pulled out her cookbook and actually read the recipe to me so I wouldn't mess up. ( I am not known for my cooking skills) What does all this have to do with being a friend you ask? Well if your life is too cluttered, you might not have time to be a friend. (or even find your cookbooks) The first real step in a deep friendship is time. My mom spent hours and hours of time with me. She stayed at home with all her children and "raised" us in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She had time because she is organized. She made time because she loves me.  When I get up each day I can look out my big kitchen window and see her sitting on her couch with a Bible open and her eyes closed in prayer. She does the same thing everyday. I know she is praying for each of her children and their growing families, and she is asking God to show her what He wants her to do each day. She is making herself available to God. She wants to be His friend too.  If this whole friend thing has you discouraged, here is a piece of advice from my hero of a mother and my first ever friend: Flood your life with organization.

Friends forever carved out of time well spent

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31 days of writing