Walking With God

I have been so incredibly blessed. Here is a quote from the book Waking the Dead, by John Eldredge. "Hopefully you will find a few folks who walk with God to also walk with you through the seasons of your life. But honesty – and Scripture – forces me to admit they are a rare breed. Few there are who find it. All the more reason for you to make the number less scarce, by becoming someone who walks with God and teaches others how." I have a number of very close Christian friends, friends who do walk closely with God, friends who have stood by my side through some really terrible times. These are friends I could call at any hour of the day or night and they would be right there to comfort and support me. And I would do the same for them. And I am married to an amazing man. His unconditional love never ceases to amaze me, and often brings tears to my eyes. I sometimes watch others struggle in relationships. I see families who live their days screaming and yelling at each other and their kids, sometimes coming to blows, and I remember what it was like growing up in that kind of environment, and I wonder why people CHOOSE to live like that. Can they really not see there is a better way? I remember as a child deciding I would never get married, because I never wanted to live the way my family lived, I never wanted to be treated the way my mother was treated by her husbands. I thought being alone was the only way to be happy. I was wrong. God created us for relationships. And when those relationships are conducted according to God's perfect plan, there is no greater blessing. Friendship, marriage, family ~ these were all created and designed by God to bless us. The enemy twists and perverts everything if we let him. So it is really a choice between blessing and curse. My mother chose the curse ~ and I can't imagine any greater pain. I chose the blessing ~ and I never could have imagined how great the wonder, the joy, the peace. God is good and awesome, powerful and amazing. I have been richly blessed beyond my wildest dreams. (That doesn't mean that any of us are perfect, or that there are never times of tension or struggle, but with God's guidance and strength, we work through those times.) And I take nothing for granted.

Honesty, Humility, and Friendship

Well, I had an old lesson reinforced the last couple of days. Friendship is a very precious thing. It is worth fighting for. Lasting friendship takes work, but it is well worth the effort. Even the closest of friends are going to have differences, or times they get under each other's skins, even times they get so angry they don't like each other very much. But if we let that be the end, the enemy wins. 

I have had to learn over the last few years to be angry, believe it or not. My childhood was such that anger was an emotion I cut off and separated myself from for survival. And when I learned that anger can be a good thing (what a shock that was), I tried to let it in, but I was afraid it would choke me, overwhelm me, take over. It didn't. But I still keep a wary eye on it. 

Anyhow, what I have learned about friendship is this: it always pays to be (tenderly) honest; anger can be a good thing; issues should always be dealt with pretty quickly; and a little (or a lot) of humility goes a very looooooong way. Never make decisions while you are angry. Anger taints everything.

When I get hurt or angry, I have a tendency to see everything from only my point of view. I feel it is so unfair, so unjust, my motives were so pure, the other person is behaving out of line. But I have found, for me, that it is best to sort of step back, take a deep breath, and humbly ask God to show me what my part in the fracture is, and what He would want me to do at this point. 

God usually tenderly, but firmly, shows me how I am not as innocent as I would like to believe. And so far He always asks me to take the first step in mending the broken relationship. Usually I find that, after honest discussion with soft voices, issues are not only worked out, but the friendship grows stronger than ever before.

When this happens, everybody wins. Well... everybody except the devil. He loses. Big time! Unity is restored, fellowship is rich, and a rift in the body of Christ is healed. Yes ~ friendships are worth working on and fighting for ~ even when it forces us to take a hard look at ourselves and swallow a large dose of humility.

By God's oh-so-amazing grace!

Rewritten Princess