For His Service

I am so thankful for the things God has taught me in 2013.  The most important thing I have learned is you can not fully understand the struggles of other people.  I can't fully understand losing a spouse, as thankfully, I have not.  I can't fully understand the lost of a child; I have lost two babies in utero, but haven't parented and then lost a child.   I can't fully understand having a difficult spouse, because Russell is gracious and kind to me... most of the time ( love you, honey).... just like I am, most of the time.  No one will fully know how difficult it is to raise a child who didn't have his/her basic needs met during the infant years...unless you also have a child like this.  No one will fully know how difficult it is to raise a child who has a chronic illness...unless you also have a child like this. I have learned to fully get that "Hurt People"'  hurt people.    But, that God is the ONLY healer.   God is the only one ...

Are there perfect people on earth, people that don't mess up, hurt others, regret words, wish they said things differently?  No, we are all sinners, sinners who still mess up... who still think selfishly at times, who still struggle to put ourselves aside and think of others first. I think our actions, the way we display love, is the only way they will see Christ.    Our call is that of a peacemaker,  building peace within the church and making peace with those outside of it. Jen Hatmaker stated it this way:   We should refuse to contribute to someone’s pain by speaking about them abstractedly, distantly, as if they aren’t real human beings whose lives bear actual repercussions of our casual public conversations. The sterile public sphere outside of the protective confines of relationships is not a safe place for such weighty discussions, and we should not add to the pile of condescending, degrading comments about real human people. These precious, fragile co...