I happen to know that growing up in a Christian household with two, loving, happily married parents who spoil you with love is not enough to stop a young girl from making detrimental choices when it comes to relationships. I do not know what it is that causes this; I just know that I have seen it happen over and over again. Looking back, I know I believed in God and I was saved, but I did not have the kind of relationship with God that transcended all other relationships. I did not know Him well enough to know that He is all I need. I did not trust that if I followed His Word to the letter everything would be alright. So, as I reflect on what I needed to know then that I know now for sure, I want to write what I know God has spoken to my heart.
Dear Daughter of Mine: As your Father, I need you to understand that I love you. I love you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. I sent my Only Son as a sacrifice to prove My Love for you. My Love is faithful, constant, and true; it will never leave you. If you think about how much your parents love you, you could multiply that infinite times and it would never amount to how much I care. My Love will never fail you. I will never fail you. I will never leave you. I want a relationship with you. I alone can make all of you dreams come true. Believe Me, I have your best in mind. The road may not always be easy, but know that I am aware, I still care, and I am still there. I know that you can’t see Me, but if you call on Me, I can hear you and I will comfort you. I have plans for your life that will be the best life that you can ever have, beyond your imagination, but you have to trust Me. You have to obey Me. You have to follow Me. When you don’t trust, obey, and follow, it breaks My heart. Nevertheless, I will always love you, and when you fall, I will be there to pick you up and forgive you the minute you ask. No one will ever love you like I do, but if you love Me first, every relationship that you have will be better than you could ever dream. I am your Loving Father; know this in your heart always. Love, God Had I truly believed these words when I was younger, I could have saved myself from a lot of pain. So, I am encouraging young women who have not yet made the mistakes I made regarding love to fortify your relationship with your first love. I am asking those who have made mistakes to realize that God has not give up on you, so you should not give up on Him. Stop! In the Name of Love, before you break His heart and your own heart. Ms. EV
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My niece wants to be a teacher like her mother and I. The difference is that she knows she would like to be a teacher now. Her mother and I both had other careers, aspirations, and experiences prior to teaching. I think both us still have dreams that go beyond teaching. But, my niece is pretty determined that this is what she wants to do, so today, she shadowed me. She watched me in my class. Now, I am very, very frank and candid with my older nephews and niece, I keep it real, so I did not sugarcoat anything that I did in class today. There was no show; it was all real.
I needed to confront my students on some behaviors that were displeasing to me. Normally, this would not occur in front of an audience, but it had to be done now because it is the middle of the last quarter and there is only a short amount of time to correct bad behavior. So, after my correcting yesterday, I knew that I had to approach the issue with sensitivity and grace. You know the saying, “You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar?” Well, I really don’t know why anyone wants to catch flies, but that’s not the point. The point is that in this particular moment, the attention of my students was the fly. I could have laid into them; I had plenty of ammunition. Instead, I took a soft, but stern approach. And, although, they didn’t say much to me, word travelled back around that my approach was appreciated. Time will tell if my audience was indeed moved to action, but when I asked my niece what she learned. She replied, “That your kids need to do their work,” Then, I asked her for her honest opinion on how I handled the situation and she said I handled it well. That meant more to me than any reaction from my students. As a Christian, it is not always easy to find the balance between nice and mean. I think I’ve written about it several times in the last couple of weeks because it is an area I am working on personally. My desire is for others to see Christ in me, but that does not mean that I am to be disrespected because I show grace and mercy. This entire situation was a great lesson in how we treat God. He gives us opportunity after opportunity to follow His Will, and yet, many times, we disrespect Him and take His kindness for granted. So, I understand why, in the Old Testament, God took people out in those situations because initially that’s how I felt. But, I am so glad that He sent Jesus and sees us through Jesus’ eyes, with grace and mercy. I hope I get the results I desire, but I will not be a salty light or spread venomous vinegar around to get my “flies.” I will listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and behave accordingly. Ms. EV On Sunday, I heard Israel Houghton’s, “Say So,” and for the past two days, I keep randomly hearing the line, “To be salt and light in the world, in the world, to be salt and light in the world,” in my head. Today, I just had to chuckle because I thought to myself, I am sure when Jesus said for us to be salt and light, He did not mean for us to be a salty light. I already admitted that I have a difficult time finding the medium between nice and mean. And, I can get an attitude, or be a mite salty, when I my buttons are being pushed by people in my life. So, what would God have me to do about this dilemma?
God speaks to us in many ways and I know it is Him because that which I believe He is speaking to me is corroborative and lines up with His Word. I read a devotional this morning about not losing your light because you need it to guide others. Then, I read another devotional about being transformed to the image of Christ and not repaying evil for evil, and loving people in spite of how I am treated. Finally, I stumbled upon an article about how to handle anger. Is anyone else sensing a theme? In my quest to be more like Him, God doesn’t just point out the obvious things that I do that are displeasing to Him, He also shows me the little dark places that I don’t often think about like my attitude towards others. The Bible says, “Be angry and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). When I allow how people treat me or holding grudges to transform me from salt and light to a salty light, I am not honoring God. There is nothing wrong with discipline and correction, but it has to be done with love. We are of no use to God when we stop caring about being like Him or when we get so bogged down in anger or depression, that our salt loses its flavor and our lights dim. We are human beings, we are going to be frustrated, but our reaction can be the difference between guiding someone to the fulfilling, tasteful Living Bread or pushing them into the tasteless darkness of a sinful world. Join with me in my mission to be salt and light, not a salty light. Ms. EV |
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