I like editing & the choice of punctuations that go with it. It signals that anything can change & be rewritten or revised. Editing teaches us to really think about what we really want to express; what we want to keep or discard. Especially relevant for our spirituality. Punctuations place us on the edge of vulnerability, choice of perspectives & faith decisions. Are we willing to be open to another perspective by placing a question mark at the end of a thought? Can we humbly surrender to a truth by placing a period at the end of an outcome?
Have you ever considered that God specializes in editing our hearts with a unique twist on grammar & the use of punctuation? When you read the Bible, take a closer look at God’s grammar. Punctuation shows how a sentence & conviction should be read. Are we interpreting what God says with His will or our own? This journey of life & motherhood is a mixed bag of these punctuation marks that give our ordinary lives a clear sense that our story is ever being changed & edited for His glory & purposes. Are we anticipating the greater things that can be fulfilled in our lives & roles?
The ‘ellipsis’ (…) is a good intro for punctuation marks. The ellipsis indicates a pause in speech or an unfinished thought; three suspension points. This is actually where most of us live spiritually most of the time. When we are waiting for God to answer a prayer or seeking His promises, it’s a period of ellipsis. We can either give up in frustration or persevere in thoughtful trust. We can get bitter at God or choose to live humbly & unoffended. We don’t know why God does what He does; why He does things for others that He doesn’t do for us. We can let go of our faith or pray our way through it. But this ellipsis period forces us to decide if we will cling to Him or not.
The quiet & humble ‘period’ (or full stop) stops us in our tracks. It marks an overwhelming finality & an acceptance of reality. The ‘full stop’ gives fixed statements the power to bring a thought to a complete halt. ‘Periods’ in our role as mothers have asked us to humbly ‘let go’ as our children have gotten older. For our toddlers to walk their first steps, we need to let go of their hand. It marks the times when God asks us to trust Him as they walk forward, fall or fail. In order for them to grow to a healthy stage of maturity, we let go & allow God to work out their growth. From the very beginning, Jochebed (Exodus 6:20), Moses’ mom, faced a dangerous & harsh reality for her newborn son (Exodus 2). That ‘full stop’ led her to the courageous act of handing over Moses’ life completely & unequivocally to God by placing him into the Nile River.
The ‘comma’ is that deliberate breath that adds a layer of meaning & emphasis. It pauses to give us more details & draws our attention to what is equally important to note. The commas in life, for mothers, addresses our need to slow down & allow God to interrupt us & place emphasis on lessons that we need to pause, listen & learn. Many of us, like myself, can let our anxiousness & our urge to control lead us to run past & even way ahead of God. We are often irritated with these disruptions that get in our own way. God put a definitive comma in Hannah’s (1Samuel 1) desire to be a mother, not to cause distress, but to create a needed commitment to Him. The additional commas in her journey led her to rely & take decisive steps of faith as she prayed & paved her way to an inner peace.
The ‘apostrophe’ indicates possession & complete ownership. It teaches us boundaries. What is God’s is God’s. It marks what & where we need to take personal responsibility for our decisions, attitude & actions. Leah’s (Genesis 29) motherhood journey was about apostrophes. She needed to face her thorns of insecurities, self-worth & resentments on the marriage & motherhood front. Learning to set healthy boundaries with God & others allowed her the healing & needed release of shame & guilt over circumstances that went beyond her control. The apostrophe brought God to the center of Leah’s desire to be loved, valued & cherished. Leah’s 4th & final son with Jacob (Genesis 29: 35) was named Judah in honor of God that brought credence to her longing for God’s affection over all others.
The ‘question mark’ is an invitation to curiosity & vulnerability. The gospels are filled with questions that Jesus asks of His disciples & the people who came alongside Him. Jesus asks of those faithful followers & of the mixed crowds some bold questions of their convictions & faith. Man through the ages, including us today, persistently & sometimes with great doubt & without great patience, ask pointed questions of God. With more experiences, more learning & more opinions, we have come with more open questions. Some of the old explanations suddenly don’t fit into our increasingly complex world. We have realized that the world does not just consist of black & white. There are a lot of nuances that also include some aspects of our faith. We catch that question mark in Sarah’s response to bearing a child in her old age. ‘So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Genesis 18: 12 NIV) God had an amazing miracle in an answer to her question. Her faith was propelled forward to claim not only the Promises of God but to be known for her quiet & submissive spirit. Question marks should lead us to open our ears & heart to how God chooses to answer & fill in those blanks.
A jump off a high cliff describes the ‘exclamation mark’. An exclamation mark communicates strong feelings & accentuates raw emotions; a deep connectedness. This mark makes our prayer responses meaningful. When we say ‘Amen’ to God or something, we are saying ‘Yes!!. So be it!!’ Scripture is full of people who embraced their exclamation mark; who decided to commit to something bigger than themselves. Our walk with God & our life legacy punctuated with the exclamation mark will produce unparalleled ‘even greater things’ (John 14:12). If we are answering unreservedly & unequivocally ‘Yes!!’ to God, this becomes our ‘Yes!!’ of self-surrender & suddenly our lives have greater meaning & purpose.
Isaiah 6: 8 ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (NIV). The thrill & excitement mixed with the fear & anticipation of the unknown is well known to Isaiah who answered God’s calling with his exclamation mark. Without knowing the details, without knowing when, how or where, he answered “Here I am. Send me!” Isaiah didn’t ask God what would exactly happen or even what he himself wanted to commit to. This is why this prayer with an exclamation mark can feel so dangerous.
‘God, just use me, send me!! Now what is your request?’ is a rare prayer we gift God with. We want to ask for details first. We want to know the benefits first; will it be easy & enjoyable; are we really suitable or capable. But Isaiah challenges us with his exclamation mark. ‘God, my answer is ‘YES!!’ Now, what is it You are asking of me?’ His definitive answer testified to the God he walked with—his choice was to trust unconditionally. The bottom line of his faith was surrendering every part of himself. Are we willing to echo his answer of ‘YES!!’?
I am turning 60 this year. On my birthday last year, I wanted to find a way to capture Isaiah’s spirit of putting my faith on the edge & stamping it with that bold exclamation mark. So, my personal goal from last year to this year’s birthday is to give God sixty unconditional ‘YESes!!’ These ‘YESes!!’ would keep my growth from stagnating at a stage in life where I am tempted to let my faith stay in my comfort zones; to linger in the arena of safe choices & tight control. At this time, as I am writing this, I have given God my forty-fifth ‘YES!!’ The criteria of these ‘YESes!!’ is when there is an invitation for something or when God puts on my heart a request; then I will say ‘YES!!’ And especially so, if my first instinct is to say ‘No!! I don’t want to,’ because of my lack of faith or my fears or just not willing to completely surrender my safe spot. I want my ‘YES!!’ to directly address my sinful nature & habitual self-reliance. I have gained so much spiritual ground & gratitude in connecting with more people, giving more generously of my heart & being kept humble by all I cannot do on my own. My ‘YESes!!’ have allowed God to disciple me to become more like Him & less of the cautious me. I have said ‘YES!!’ to learning how to age gracefully, pray intently & edit faithfully each day, relationship & opportunity that God gifts towards my life legacy. So how many ‘YESes!!’ will you gift God with?
God has a lifetime of grammar lessons & punctuations for us to consider. Don’t put a comma where God puts a period & never put a period where God puts a comma. Sometimes what we perceive as a period is really just a comma or an ellipsis. We assess that God’s silence is the end of the sentence, but sometimes it's just a gentle pause that tests our faith. Praying through life’s situation is the conjunction that allows God to not just finish the sentence but to make a bold statement that underscore our faith & reliance on Him. What grammar do you use in your prayers? How is your story being punctuated & edited & for what reasons? How will your # of ‘YESes!!!’ change your motherhood journey?
with Yeses!!! & Amens!!! for Him,
jane chin
Author’s profile of spiritual highlights:
Baptized in Boston campus ministry July 1982.
Married Steve Chin in August 1987. Three daughters: Asiana, Chyna & Xiana. Baptized in Taipei, Hong Kong & Boston respectively.
Both became interns in Boston in 1985/1986.
Mission team to HK September 1987. Mission team to Taipei in January 1991.
Served in Greater China churches 1987 until present.
Motto: ‘Soli Deo Honor et Gloria’ all honor & glory to God
3 Comments
Oct 7, 2021, 2:33:53 PM
Khalilah L Scott - I'm interested in attending
Oct 6, 2021, 10:20:48 PM
Juan Rojas - Thank you for sharing. It is insightfu. May be continue forward, placing our faith on the line to serve God and advance his Kingdom!
Oct 6, 2021, 1:21:12 PM
Marian Flammio - Wow! Very convicting Jane. I will continue to look at Scripture and my prayers in a much more insightful way. Thank you.