His Perseverance

Our Pantry Project has turned out a bit like any project that we’ve tried to perform on our fixer-upper home:  problems at every step.  It doesn’t seem to matter how much planning or preparation goes into it, inevitably:  something is missing; something unexpected pops up requiring more tools or materials; or something just goes wrong.  My poor husband is a bit frustrated as you can imagine, but has persevered nonetheless, for which I am proud of him.

It’s easy to place expectations on something that I have planned for, and when things go sour, it is also easy to let my feelings move beyond disappointment to frustration or anger, etc.  I see this happening in my husband, too, but whereas in the past, he has subsequently “thrown in the towel,” now he continues to press on.  I pray that I can be a great support to him, and a partner who can point him back to God.

I must admit that when I try to point him back to God, I often feel that the words are trite, or may even exacerbate the situation.  My conviction, though, is that I should still do it.  Even if the words I think of aren’t the best, it is still my job as his wife to point him back to Christ.  I work on the words to use, but I shouldn’t keep silent if they aren’t perfect.  Granted, there are certain situations where it is best to wait.  Today, however, as he had a moment of frustration, all I could think to say was something like, “I’m glad the Lord has a reason.”

I don’t want to always call him out, but I do want to point him to the Lord, and I think, however, trite it may have been, that I was able to accomplish that today.  The Lord will use my words as He sees fit.  I pray that God did use my words to help my husband today, and I thank Him for my husband’s perseverance.

Hugs

Have you ever noticed what a hug can do?  I don’t know if it’s just me, but a hug can be God’s reminder to me that everything is okay, I don’t need to worry, and I am loved.  He used my husband today to tell me that in a hug.  

I’ve let myself grow a little anxious over the amount of work I have been missing, whether due to the holidays or sickness.  Being the main provider for our household at the moment, money sometimes weighs a little heavy in my mind.  God has shown me time and again that, yes, we should plan for our finances, but that I don’t need to worry about anything - finances included.  Jehovah-jireh:  the Lord will Provide.

I am thankful for God’s reminders in hugs.  I am thankful that He has provided us with a physical way to feel His hugs.  (Not that my husband is God, certainly - but God works through my husband.)  I thank Him for His love.

The One Not Sick

My husband and son came down with a stomach bug last night.  My poor husband was frequently up vomiting, and I discovered vomit on the carpet in my son’s room in the morning.  By the grace of God, I don't have it (or at least, I don’t yet).

My husband stayed in bed most of the day, feeling weak and nauseated.  My son was another matter.  I wouldn’t have known he was sick, except that there had been vomit in his room and he wasn’t very hungry throughout the day.  He was, however, his usual energetic self.  Mommy, however, could feel her body fighting the bug, and did not have an energy to match the little man’s.

Though I might be getting sick, I am not yet, and God still gave me the energy and strength to care for my family.  I often smile when I hear stories of families being sick, but there is one of them who isn’t.  It may not be an easy job being the one not sick, but it is a grace of God and gift to the rest of the family.  I thank God for His gift of the one not sick, and pray that this bug passes swiftly.

Weekly Impressions - Moment-by-Moment Choices

Marriage can be tough.  Everyone knows that.  Honestly, any relationship can be tough.  When one human interacts with another, our sin will surface at some point in some way.  It’s not the most pleasant of experiences - but, to quote Alfred Lord Tennyson, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

I am thankful that my Savior is gracious with me when I sin.  His love is better than life, and the ability to be a conduit of that love is even better still.  If I can keep the mindset of showing His love to my husband when sin rears its ugly head, then any “suffering” is by the grace of God for our good.  God also promises a reward for those who suffer for His name.  Of course, that means that I need to be pointing back to Him within my suffering.  Not always an easy thing to do.  Joyous, however, when accomplished.  

Christ also promises the strength to live by His name and will.  I have to choose His will moment-by-moment.  My choices weren’t all made in love, and I had to confess that to and ask forgiveness of my husband.  We both did.

What choices have you made today?

To Be Loved

To be loved by any human is to be loved imperfectly.  We have the love of Christ to look up to, but until we join Him in heaven, we will still live in the imperfection of sin.  My husband and I had a difficult morning with one another, not only in dealing with our sinful nature, but in communicating clearly to one another.  It took some time, but we were able to sort through things, confess, and seek forgiveness from one another.

I certainly didn’t feel loved this morning, but one thing I remind myself of frequently, is that love is a Choice.  Even when the feelings aren’t there, I choose to love and remain with my husband.  I have the added bolster of God’s commandment to remain with him once I have made that choice, too, and can take peace from following His will.  The same goes for my husband.  Even in the rough times, he also chooses to love me and remain with me.

That certainly doesn’t mean that everything is hunky-dory all the time.  We are sinners, and sin isn’t pleasant to deal with.  I am glad, though, that my husband is willing to help me deal with my sin.  It may take a bit before he’s ready to - or for me to be ready to deal with his, for that matter - but we are committed to one another.  

I am thankful to be loved.  Not only by my husband, but also by my Savior.  That love is perfect, and “...perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18b)  God’s love keeps my soul, and orchestrates all things for His glory and the good of His children (Romans 8:28-29).

A Gentle Spirit

Philippians 4:4-5

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.”

What do you think of when you think of the word rejoice?  If you’re like me, you think of upraised hands and shouts of joy.  Exuberance, perhaps.  So I find it interesting that this verse follows an imperative command of “Rejoice!” with “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.”  Rejoice and gentle don’t typically go together in my mind.

Yet it didn’t take much more thought to consider what it is to experience the Joy of the Lord.  It is - in a word that doesn’t truly sum it all up - contentment.  Paul describes various practices of contentment before coming out and saying it in verse 11 (that he has learned to be content no matter his circumstances), but they are certainly all linked in his logical line of thought.

Joy and contentment are interesting things; they each tend to bring out the other.  As I considered my practices in my marriage, I realized that I am learning more and more how to be joyful and content within it.  When I practice biblical submission to my husband, my gentle spirit encourages him and I feel content in that role - it is God’s calling on my life and that brings me joy.

I rejoice in the Lord that He has taught me to have a gentle spirit.  I thank Him for His grace in those times that I choose differently - as well as my husband’s grace.  May I come to understand what it is to have a gentle spirit all the more as time goes on, and thus increase my joy.

When I let guilt at my sins enter the equation, my joy falters.  Guilt traps me in sorrow that leads nowhere.  Conviction leads me to confession and repentance, from which point I can move forward in the Lord.  When I accept God's grace, I can rejoice in God's gift even of grace itself.

Is there something in your marriage that you have allowed to stifle your joy in the Lord?

YouTube

As I mentioned earlier, my husband has begun the process of building us a pantry.  The wall he will build it against has a few pipes sticking out, which were originally intended for washer hookups.  Since there were also washer hookups in the garage, we have never used them, and would like to cap them off (and maybe reroute a couple for the possibility of a future dishwasher).

Throughout this project, he has made full use of YouTube, looking up tutorials on various aspects of the job.  It has been a great tool for him, and makes the research so much faster and easier.  Not that everything you find on there is exactly the way it should be done, but it’s a great start, and gives you an inkling of what you’re dealing with.  (I always recommend a look-over of your plans by an actual person who knows what they’re doing, if possible.)

I am thankful for YouTube, that it has made our Pantry Project more easily doable, especially with the time frame we’re looking at before school starts.  I can’t wait until it’s finished and for God’s blessing of kitchen (and other) storage in our home!