Tuesday, June 8, 2010

THE TIES THAT BIND

I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT A NEW FRIEND.

Actually,our paths have crossed many times over the past decade or so, but we were nothing more than casual acquaintances, until recently that is. We are now kindred spirits who:

-Are close in age
-Live in the same town
-Actually in the same community
-Share the same Godly principles
-And family values
-And are married
-To our children's father
-Each have two children
-An older daughter and a younger son
-Who are the same age (late teens/early 20's)and
-Who share like personalities

It was not until AFTER our relationship changed that we discovered these similarities in our lives. They were NOT what brought us together. No, our spirits were bound because we both share so much more:

-Two babies and a desire to keep them forever safe and protected
-With the reality of knowing that we would not always be able to do this for them
-Devoted to teaching and preparing them for their futures
-Hopeful that they would always keep and use the knowledge they had been taught and the wisdom that was hidden in their hearts to stay protected
-Wanting victory
-Wanting truth, righteousness, preparation, faith, salvation, the Word, and prayer to be their shield
-Boldly displayed armors so that in a crowd it would cause them to stand out, but at the same time it would also protect them
-Standing on the sidelines
-Learning to let go, little by little
-Watching them soar
-Cheering
-And praying
-A glimpse of victory
-Blindsided by attacks,
-Distractions,
-Temptations,
-Bad decisions,
-Peer pressure,
-And rebellion
-Watching battle after battle play out in their lives
-Crying
-Praying harder
-The bitter taste of defeat
-Disbelief
-Numbness
-Anger
-Confusion
-Guilt
-Disappointment
-Sadness
-Shame
-The desire to fight
-Weariness, wanting, at times, to throw in the towel and give up
-Floods of so many more emotions (too many to list)
-Working through each and every one of them sometimes over and over again
-Seriously considering possible alien abduction
-Not liking their replacements
-Knowing it was no longer a simple matter of kissing a bobo, placing a band-aid, or choosing which punishment to enforce: time-out, grounding, lecturing, or spanking
-Learning our place in the midst of it all
-Learning to stand firm on the Truth while trying to maintain a relationship with them
-Remembering God's way
-Forgiveness
-Unconditional love
-Learning to let go of the guilt and not blame ourselves
-Learning to deal with disappointment as we watch them sway back and forth while they deal with convictions and temptations
-Watching
-Waiting
-Concern over how their futures will be affected
-At the same time, knowing God has a plan for them
-As well as for us
-Trusting Him with it
-Hopeful that some day they will want to and be able to use their stories to help others and share Christ
-In the meantime...
-Recognizing those He places in our path to help us along the way and those we can help
-Dealing with what comes our way the ONLY way we know how to
-Full of joy
-Peace
-Long-suffering
-Gentleness
-Goodness
-Meekness
-Temperance
-And thankfulness
-Yes, thankfulness...only through
-Him



EVEN THOUGH THIS IS NOT A PATH EITHER ONE OF US WANT TO BE ON, THANK YOU MY FRIEND, FOR SHARING AND CARING.

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