I heard the most beautiful thing the other day from a widowed woman with 13 children. Now, when a gal like that speaks… you listen. One because, 13 kids makes a body crazy lol but two, because sometimes the sweetest wisdom is born from the hardest times. ‘My husband always said that tho he might be the head of the house, I was it’s heart.’ The enemy erodes our families for a reason. That’s an avenue of strength we often overlook because it’s hard dealing with ‘crazy people’. It’s also a place of ministry fraught with peril, because our families know us best. They might not always see the great heart work God is doing, or if they do… they pick and pull at ya til ya feel a bit ridiculous for your faith. Forgive… how you want to be forgiven. Those words in a few verses throughout the Bible always stuck with me. Or should I say… they always struck deep in my heart, because forgiveness is hard. Matthew 6:14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you. Forgiveness is hard, but so freeing. I often ask God but what do I do with the hurt? He says: give it to Me. The wounds? He says: I’ll heal them and you will grow stronger from it. A stressor in training produces growth. A line in a Disney movie, the incredibles, had me chuckling but what God did in my heart through it was no laughing matter. The man thinks he lost his family. The wife thought the man was cheating and he says as they run from certain death: you keep trying to pick a fight but I’m just glad you’re alive. God says: delight in me as I delight in you and let me show you my delight in others. If my focus is on the delighting; rejoicing that y’all are here, drawing strength from that delight, and loving on ya how I am able then I’m operating from what I perceive to be a mindset of strength and it’s good. The hurts gonna come, people are going to let you down but having been so freely forgiven can you do any less? Strengthen your family. Whether you are it’s heart or it’s head. Love each other well. Delight in each other and in each moment. Let God be the judge, He’s far wiser and He sees more clearly. Time is fleeting and eternity unfolding is what awaits. Don’t build resentment in each other through the business of living (or busy-ness) Be diligent and faithful. Most things sort themselves. Gods got you! Wives you are the heart of your home. If the heart is whole a well of endless strength and blessing abound. Husbands defend and protect the heart. As the head, you take point. How you lead is important but you should be also securing the perimeter of your borders in prayer even as God enlarges them. There is strength in family and family can look like however you want it to but please don’t be like those marauding huskies or like the folks in this song 👍 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgvBxI-XfE&list=WL&index=10

Posted by kat at 2022-11-19 16:58:52 UTC