I hope & trust this post finds you all having had a great day and a wonderful week.
Before writing anything, I would like to respectfully ask everyone to please say a prayer for all those whose lives are being touched by Hurricane Matthew. While I type this in the calm of my own home, I am mindful that there are those in Haiti, the Caribbean, Florida, etc. who have lost their lives, who are fighting for their lives and my heart aches for them.
This evening I want to share a few sweet reminders. I shared these on Facebook this week and they continue to speak to my heart powerfully.
"God wants me to love my husband [wife] the way he [she] is today, not the way he [she] will be tomorrow. I have to stop with my expectations and just let God be God. His job is to change my husband [wife], my job is to love my husband [wife], right where he [she] is." - Ngina Otiende
First and foremost Friends, let's rest in the peace of this truth. God doesn't call me to change Kathy, to make her do anything. He calls me to love her, to protect her, to guide her. Nowhere in His expectations of me does He say that I have to make her do this or do that. He simply calls me to love her. If we can just grasp that - it is our job to do the loving, it is God's job to do the changing - the pressure we place on ourselves would be relieved like a great steam valve.
Expectations - we all got 'em and we have no problem placing them...on someone else. What if instead of worrying about someone else changing to be what we think we want or need we simply worked on ourselves? Instead of searching out their weaknesses, we tried to understand and correct our own? What if instead of trying to tell them all the things they could do to make life better, we did all the things they need to make life better for them? Are we courageous enough to surrender them to God in prayer and then ask Him to mold, make & shape us into all He created us to become? The reality is none of us are short on expectations and yet the expectations we place on others are often impossible to meet on a consistent basis. This is not who we are, what we where called to be!
Don't we all really just want to be loved? For who we are? Now? Yes, we are broken, flawed & imperfect...every single one of us. Let's come alongside those we are privileged to do life with in all their ugliness and just love on 'em. If we proclaim to be Christ followers, wouldn't we be wise to follow His example? I for one am eternally grateful that He didn't wait until I got it all right to love me...I would still be waiting!
And finally, while this is written specifically for the husband/wife relationship , I would argue that this quote applies to literally every single relationship. Shouldn't we drop all the expectations, which by the way cannot occur without judgement...think about it, and just come alongside people wherever they are and just love them? The world will look vastly different when we do.
"Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling." - Rick Warren
How about that?!?! By using the abilities you were given by God to help others you are fulfilling your calling. Just be the best you that you can be. See, you lack nothing! You where fearfully & wonderfully made, on purpose, for a purpose. Let us remember this...always.
"Believe in yourself the way God believes in you." - Unknown
Wow! This one blows my mind. Can you imagine? I don't know about you but I can be incredibly critical of myself. I am really good at telling myself all the times I failed, all the things I lack, etc. If we could only catch a glimpse of what God believes about us... He tells us many, many times in the Bible. He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us so that we could then be able to spend eternity with Him? Do you think He believes in us?!?!
Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great evening, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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