Our Inspired Journey

It's happening again.  Valentine's Day.  The day where LOVE is celebrated across the globe.  Reservations are made, flowers given, words spoken...all in an attempt to show LOVE.

In the past few days when Pinterest is blowing up with red and pink and my kids are trading stories about what their parties at school will be like, I find myself seeking out refuge.  This often happens when I don't feel like I can keep up with all the craziness around me...don't get me wrong...it's a happy, sweet sort of craziness-- but truth be told, I find it all about as fulfilling as my checked off "to-do" list at the end of a productive day.  My accomplishments slowly start to masquerade as my self-worth and ultimately leave me feeling as empty as a banquet hall after the party has ended.  It was fun while it lasted, but now that it's over...now what?

So, I asked the Lord to help me.  Help me see this day as He does...minus the hoopla :)

Yesterday, there was a moment when I literally froze in my steps on the stairs...I'm not trying to be dramatic, just giving you a sneak peek into what actually happens in this little heart of mine on occasion.  John was downstairs playing with the kids, and I got this overwhelming feeling of thankfulness that my husband was home with me.  My eyes closed, heart swelled, stomach danced and praise lifted beyond the rooftops for God giving me the perfect man for me...for our family...for our story...for His glory.

Then, as quickly as it had come, my mood changed.  I pray often that God would move my heart for the things that move His, and in this next moment, my heart broke.  Even now as I write, I can't stop the tears that fall for every friend I have who is living the reality of a broken marriage.  I have several friends right now who are either struggling in their marriages, or on the heels of divorce.  The marriage relationship is not something to be taken lightly or for granted.  I sensed the deep sadness God felt for those who are walking the path of brokenness.  But in that moment He also reminded me, as He has before, that He loves His church and I remembered that He promises to be near the brokenhearted...

Psalm 34:18...
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves though who are crushed in spirit.


This Valentine's Day, I am thankful for my husband...my partner...my best friend...the one who shows me more about the character of God than any other being on earth.  God said in 1 Corinthians 13...


Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶ does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 


If this is love, then I can honestly say, my husband loves me.  I am incredibly blessed and challenged to love more deeply and honestly every day because of his example to me...

"It only takes a few brief words to enter the married life; but it will take thousands of confessions of love through word and act to live the married life.  We enter the Christian life by faith in Christ and by confessing Him as Lord and Master of our lives; but it takes all the remaining days of our lives, our confessions of Him as Lord by our words and by the deeds of our lives, to live the Christian life." - A.B. Kendall

I realize Valentine's Day is not as joyful a reminder for some.  This week and next, I'm thankful three dear friends of mine have agreed to share their stories with you.  For anyone who is in a struggling marriage and hanging on by a thread...or recently divorced and feeling hopeless...or struggling to find purpose in their singleness...these testimonies are for you.  There is HOPE in Christ.  Come back on Wednesday for the first posting of God's redemptive work in a marriage.  I'm praying even now for those that need to hear, to be drawn to these stories of His faithfulness...