A Fresh Glimpse of God’s Love

Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

 Being a mother is the greatest blessing and the hardest job ever. Your heart is so tightly laced with your children, you often aren’t sure where you end and they begin. Their joy brings you joy; their pain brings you pain. It is a delicate and precious bond. But for all its beauty it is also often messy and miserable.

This week one of my darlings made a series of bad choices at school. This resulted in a vast variety of consequences. My first emotional response was shock, quickly followed by anger and disappointment. My heart hurt over the intensity of it all. I had to be firm, but not mean. I had to show love but also displeasure. How do you know where the line is? What is too much? What is enough?

Thankfully the call from the school came before lunch so I had several hours to pray and seek wise counsel. As her father and I discussed, debated and deliberated over our options I felt completely unequipped to correctly navigate these unknown waters. But, I was equipped. God’s Word framed and guided our choices. We were ready. We agreed upon a plan and the school supported our choices. Step one and two done. The next step, telling the child and setting the consequences in motion.

The tears shed that afternoon by both child and mother could fill our bathtub, but we had accomplished our desire: to touch the heart and teach an invaluable lesson. But the whole of the consequences would not go into effect until today.

As I dropped my humbled and contrite child at school this morning, whispered words tumbled from the passenger seat, “I’m scared.”

My heart broke. But I held it together and assured all would be well. We had prayed and God would supply the strength needed. Backpack and lunch box were bravely grabbed, and chin lifted as the uncertain child made the trip into the school.

I made it out of the parking lot before I began to sob. I had agreed to this consequence. It was right. But it hurt unbelievably. I wanted to swoop in and rescue, spare the pain and possible embarrassment, but that would be wrong. This was best. The lesson was too important, a little heart was at stake. My child’s.

As I sat at my desk looking through baby pictures and crying a startling truth become glaringly evident. God allows consequences for our good. Yes, he could intervene and spare us, but he allows them because He knows—a heart is at stake. He isn’t looking to modify behavior; He wants to change our hearts and sometimes the process requires painful consequences. But God isn’t up there watching unaffected. He hurts with us. He shares our pain because of his great love for us. Just as we, the parents careful weighed the possibilities, our Heavenly Father allows nothing to touch us that He can’t use to grow and change us.

God is infinitely good and we are gloriously loved. Even when life hurts and the pain is crippling, the faithfulness of God can see us through and He will use those very things to mold us into the image of His Son. What a great God we serve!

 

 

Thirsty?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6

Have you ever noticed we tend to crave what we commonly consume? My Cowboy drinks more than his fair share of Dr. Pepper. And that is what he wants often throughout the day. No substitutes allowed. Dr. Pepper or nothing. If we are out of his preferred beverage, a trip to the store happens immediately, regardless of present circumstances. He has conditioned his body and mind to want, desire and even crave Dr. Pepper.

As I am trying to eat a more healthy diet, which includes lots of water, I find myself thirsty for water. And only water. I could choose to quench my thirst with a less healthy option and if done repeatedly I would no longer be thirsty for water. We train our minds and bodies to desire what we give them.

The Dr. Pepper may appear to quench My Cowboy’s thirst, but the truth is, Dr. Pepper actually dehydrates, making him more thirsty and needing more. Our bodies to be healthy need water. Water is the true thirst quencher. It is how we are made.

This reality does not only apply to physical food. We can train our minds and souls to crave various things. We may NEED TV time. We may REQUIRE Face book time. We may CRAVE video games. How we spend our free time and what we value is intricately linked. But just like the Dr. Pepper, these activities and pastimes do not fill us; they only make us want more. We were created with a hunger only God can fill.

So how do we develop an appetite for God and His Word?

How do we reprogram our minds to crave the things of God?

By changing our diet. We feed our thirst with God’s Word.  At first it may seem all wrong, not satisfying. The TV or Face book may keep calling our name. But just as we don’t give into physical cravings as we seek to get healthy, we must ignore our old pastimes to develop a new mind set. As we continually feed on his truth we WILL see our desires begin to change.

After one bite of veggies or one sip of water we don’t give up. If we want a new, healthier life we persevere until new habits are formed and old habits are broken. With our spiritual lives we can do nothing less. As we hunger and thirst for righteousness we will be truly filled. Jesus promises and he is faithful.

Pigs & Pearls

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6

While praying for a dearly loved young lady one night, asking God for wisdom and direction, my heart heard the whisper, “Don’t throw your pearls to the pigs.” I was horrified. Too harsh. Surely an ungodly thought. So I bowed my head again intent on continuing my prayer and again the words came, “Don’t throw your pearls to the pigs.” I was speechless (a very rare thing), but my mind began to spin out of control. This was a child of God. Yes, her behavior and attitude did not indicate or lead you to believe this, but… We couldn't just give up on her. More time. More lessons. More interactions. More. More. More.

But, no. Had I failed her? Could I have done something different? Was this my fault? I had poured and poured into this precious life, where had I gone wrong? With these thoughts plaguing me I reached for the phone. I needed wisdom and someone who had lived this. I called my youth minister’s wife. Because you see, she had poured into me for years and I too at one time was the pig. She would be able to shed light and give me some hope and hopefully direction.

Boy, did God use her to alter my perspective. We are called to spread seed and maybe even add some water, but only God can produce the plant and only God, with the consent of the individual, can change the soil. Over watering does not produce life in a plant with bad soil. It kills. Scattering more seed and more seed on rocky or weedy soil does not change the soil. We are seed scatterers and we trust God with the rest.

I hadn't failed. Jesus had Judas for three long years. He heard every story, saw every miracle and yet he rejected and betrayed Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, loved Judas, washed his feet, prayed for him and yet Judas never allowed him to change the soil of his heart. Jesus didn't fail. And neither do we. We love, we pray and we scatter seed. And then we trust God to handle everything else.

That prodigal child, lost spouse, wayward youth, the best thing we can do for them is to love them and give them to God. Will it hurt? Do they take a piece of you with them? Yes. But, Jesus promises peace which makes no sense. And in that moment he will provide all that you need.

**Thanks Barbie, for allowing God to use you to minister to me as I let my little piggy go.

IF you are reading this and you are the wayward, the prodigal or the lost, I need you to know, no matter how far you have run, how deep the mud, you have a heavenly Father waiting with open arms for your return. You have not used up his patience or love. You are dearly loved and will always be welcome.