The kids. I think they are on their way to John's basketball game with Mimi and Poppy.
Guess how we spent our spring break! (This is sand, by the way, not mud.)Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18
I have to be honest--it's been a discouraging week. Nothing terrible has happened, but it has been one of those weeks that felt like we were walking backwards in our quest to return to the field as career missionaries. Ever felt that way? You clear one hurdle to find another three in your path. That's the way this week has felt. And as we have consistently made the choice to look on the bright side, to trust God, to refuse to be discouraged, it seems like the little frustrations keep coming. I want it to stop. I don't want to feel frustrated. I don't want to feel discouraged. And I definitely don't want my children to be frustrated and discouraged.
But that's not reality, is it? Sometimes, no matter what we do, no matter how much we choose to trust and obey, there are things beyond our control. One of those things is the behavior of other people. And to some extent, another of those things is our health. Now, I can make all the right choices, I can exercise daily, eat very few carbs, drink enough water to sustain a camel for months, but there are certain things about my health that I cannot control. Marc has high cholesterol. He's been on cholesterol medicine for a decade, because his doctor looked at the genetic factors and knew it was always going to be a problem for him. We eat basically the same food, and my cholesterol is pretty much that of a child. Is it because I'm trying harder? No. I simply have some excellent genetic factors. My people are long-lived and generally healthy. (But don't get me started on the hips I inherited from my father's side of the family. Ugh.) I can make every right choice, I can have good genes, but I cannot control everything about my health, any more than I can control how other people behave. So what's a girl to do with those little frustrations and discouragements? And what's a mom to do when those frustrations and discouragements are coming in the life of a child?
I'm choosing praise. I have to tell you what I told one of the kids this week--praising God in every situation is not always what I feel like doing. I am human, and when someone or some situation discourages and hurts one of my kids or Marc--my first reaction is a very human one. I want to make a biting remark. I want to hurt whomever or whatever has hurt someone I love. But you know what? That's not who I am in Christ. That's who I am in Kellye. And I want to work out of the strength and power afforded me by being His child. I want to love others--no matter how they behave. I want to be positive in difficult situations. I want to walk over the obstacles in my path with confidence born of knowing my Redeemer and trusting Him with my whole life. But it's a choice I must daily make--to die to who I am in Kellye and to live as who I am in Christ. And though it's not always an easy choice, it's one I always benefit from making, if only because I know Him just a little bit more.
I'm also choosing an attitude of thankfulness. (I wanted so badly to say attitude of gratitude. I love a good rhyme.) What do I have to complain about when God has blessed me so abundantly? An incredible marriage, a close relationship with my extended family, an amazingly close relationship with my children, a great church, wonderful friendships here and all over the world, a job working with people I truly love, teaching a subject I really love...blessings all mine, with ten thousand besides. I'm incredibly grateful for the adults who have chosen to invest in the lives of my kids--youth pastors and volunteers and chaplains and teachers who have made a huge impact on their lives. And I'm really thankful for those relationships in their lives with their peers that are encouraging and replenishing to them, that encourage them to be the people God created them to be. And you know what? Those relationships far outweigh the momentary troubles of other relationships. God has been amazingly good to us.
So today, even though nothing has changed about my frustrating, discouraging week, I am making the choice to not get caught up in that, to not focus on those little things, and to focus instead on the amazing God I serve and the incredible ways in which He daily makes my life worth living. And along the way, I pray I'm teaching my kids to do the same. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are choosing to praise Him no matter your frustrations, and that you are headed to the fair with your kids today, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
I have to be honest--it's been a discouraging week. Nothing terrible has happened, but it has been one of those weeks that felt like we were walking backwards in our quest to return to the field as career missionaries. Ever felt that way? You clear one hurdle to find another three in your path. That's the way this week has felt. And as we have consistently made the choice to look on the bright side, to trust God, to refuse to be discouraged, it seems like the little frustrations keep coming. I want it to stop. I don't want to feel frustrated. I don't want to feel discouraged. And I definitely don't want my children to be frustrated and discouraged.
But that's not reality, is it? Sometimes, no matter what we do, no matter how much we choose to trust and obey, there are things beyond our control. One of those things is the behavior of other people. And to some extent, another of those things is our health. Now, I can make all the right choices, I can exercise daily, eat very few carbs, drink enough water to sustain a camel for months, but there are certain things about my health that I cannot control. Marc has high cholesterol. He's been on cholesterol medicine for a decade, because his doctor looked at the genetic factors and knew it was always going to be a problem for him. We eat basically the same food, and my cholesterol is pretty much that of a child. Is it because I'm trying harder? No. I simply have some excellent genetic factors. My people are long-lived and generally healthy. (But don't get me started on the hips I inherited from my father's side of the family. Ugh.) I can make every right choice, I can have good genes, but I cannot control everything about my health, any more than I can control how other people behave. So what's a girl to do with those little frustrations and discouragements? And what's a mom to do when those frustrations and discouragements are coming in the life of a child?
I'm choosing praise. I have to tell you what I told one of the kids this week--praising God in every situation is not always what I feel like doing. I am human, and when someone or some situation discourages and hurts one of my kids or Marc--my first reaction is a very human one. I want to make a biting remark. I want to hurt whomever or whatever has hurt someone I love. But you know what? That's not who I am in Christ. That's who I am in Kellye. And I want to work out of the strength and power afforded me by being His child. I want to love others--no matter how they behave. I want to be positive in difficult situations. I want to walk over the obstacles in my path with confidence born of knowing my Redeemer and trusting Him with my whole life. But it's a choice I must daily make--to die to who I am in Kellye and to live as who I am in Christ. And though it's not always an easy choice, it's one I always benefit from making, if only because I know Him just a little bit more.
I'm also choosing an attitude of thankfulness. (I wanted so badly to say attitude of gratitude. I love a good rhyme.) What do I have to complain about when God has blessed me so abundantly? An incredible marriage, a close relationship with my extended family, an amazingly close relationship with my children, a great church, wonderful friendships here and all over the world, a job working with people I truly love, teaching a subject I really love...blessings all mine, with ten thousand besides. I'm incredibly grateful for the adults who have chosen to invest in the lives of my kids--youth pastors and volunteers and chaplains and teachers who have made a huge impact on their lives. And I'm really thankful for those relationships in their lives with their peers that are encouraging and replenishing to them, that encourage them to be the people God created them to be. And you know what? Those relationships far outweigh the momentary troubles of other relationships. God has been amazingly good to us.
So today, even though nothing has changed about my frustrating, discouraging week, I am making the choice to not get caught up in that, to not focus on those little things, and to focus instead on the amazing God I serve and the incredible ways in which He daily makes my life worth living. And along the way, I pray I'm teaching my kids to do the same. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are choosing to praise Him no matter your frustrations, and that you are headed to the fair with your kids today, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
1 comment:
amen sister, I love you, and this was all so well said and exactly how I feel sometimes too. thanks for sharing, it is encouraging and uplifting and a wonderful reminder of all we have to have an attitude of gratitude. YOU GO GIRL.. and then just keep going :) :) hugs
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