Really, God?

I don’t think anyone wants to feel like they are being used, but maybe they should.  Over the years, I have found myself in situations where I felt used.  The biggest example of this was my marriage.  Don’t get me wrong.  I had a great marriage and loved Dan very much.  I know that he loved me very much and was proud to be my husband.  With my marriage to Dan, I was blessed to also be a parent to six amazing kids.  I don’t know how mothers who give birth to their children do it.  I can’t imagine loving kids more than I do the ones that God blessed me with.  However, as much we loved the kids, Dan and I were looking forward to a time when the kids were grown and we could enjoy our time together alone without the responsibilities of parenting teenagers.  At the beginning of December 2007, the last of the kids ventured out on their own to find their path in the world.  Shortly after, the cancer that we had hoped Dan had been healed of returned and two months and two surgeries later, Dan changed his address to heaven.  God had used me to help bring the children to adulthood and just when I thought that God would bless me with time to concentrate on my husband, he was gone. It seems that this has become a recurring theme and now most recently, I have found myself being used again.  I have met a man whose life experiences are similar to my own in many respects.  In ways that I haven’t experienced before, God has used me to speak to him.  Last night, God spoke to me that I was being used to prepare this man for his bride.  This was difficult for me to understand, and I wanted to ask, “Really God? Again, I am being used?”.  Well, of course, I am, because that’s how God works.  Maybe, somewhere in God’s plan, I will be blessed beyond being used.  I don’t know what His ideas are.  It’s not my job to know.  It’s my job to listen and be used.  

Helping to Write the Next Chapter

On a recent trip, I bought an audio book to listen to while I drove. I got very interested in the book, but eventually made it home and had to stop listening.  I headed to the sewing room yesterday and decided to continue listening to the book.  Unfortunately, iTunes had not kept track of where I was at in the book and I was left to try to figure it out.  I started close to where I thought I had left off, but it didn’t make sense.  It seems that I missed part of the story.  Life is like that too.

From the time we are born, our story is being written. The other people that we encounter become the characters, our circumstances become the background, and both the decisions that we make and the decisions that others make create the drama. What I have found is that sometimes when we don’t know the previous chapters in someone’s story, we don’t understand where they are at now.  If we knew that one of the chapters in someone’s book included abuse, could we understand why the part of the story that we see involves distrust?  If we knew that one of the chapters in someone’s book included burying someone that they loved more than anyone else in the world, could we understand why sometimes there are tearstains on their pages?  If we knew that someone’s story had falling in love, could we understand why their pages weren’t written with a jaded and cynical pen?

Everyone’s story is different and how it continues is affected by previous chapters.  It is important to remember that for everyone we meet, we become part of their story.  The challenge is to be the character that will create a storyline of love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.  That can make the next chapter so much better.

Sex in the Digital Age

Before you start freaking out, this isn't “that” kind of blog post.  These are just some thoughts about the subject of waiting.

For years, prior to getting a cell phone, we had this interesting device in our house.  The purpose of this device was to allow callers to leave a message in the event that we were not able to answer the phone.  I remember coming home and going to check for messages…then came cell phones.  Now, a person can call me anytime they want and if I can’t take the call, they can still leave a message.  The difference is that I don’t have to wait until I get home to listen to the message and make a decision to return their call.  There was something exciting about seeing the red light flashing on the answering machine when I got home.  I have an iPhone.  In addition to phone calls, I can use Facebook, check and send emails, google anything, see if there is any activity on my online dating profile, play Words with Friends, and more.  I sat down at my computer today, opened up Chrome and started looking at Facebook.  I then realized that I had just seen what was there moments before on my phone.  The same applied to the other things that I check when I go online.  There was a letdown…a bit of disappointment.  The information was all the same, but because I had already seen it, there wasn’t that much of a thrill.  Do you see where I’m going with this?

God designed sex to take place between two people who are in a marriage relationship.  However, society has tried to convince us that it’s ok to engage in a sexual relationship whenever, wherever, and with whomever we choose. It has distorted what God intended to be something that a married couple shares with only each other into something that is a casual physical act.  Sex has become like carrying a cell phone.  There’s no need to wait for what you want.  It’s available at any time.  The problem is that when the time comes for a person to enter into a marriage relationship, some of the excitement that should be there isn’t because, for lack of a better phrase….been there, done that.  I know that the concept of waiting until marriage to engage in a sexual relationship may seem completely unreasonable to some, (cough, cough…my last date.  Don’t worry, he found someone without boundaries and I haven’t heard from him since) but the benefits of showing self-control until you are in a marriage relationship greatly outweigh the momentary pleasure.  Oh and besides…..God is pretty clear on the subject. Hmmm….Maybe He knows what he’s talking about.