Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Prologue to a journey...



For seven and a half years now, Kelly and I have worked and fought the hard good fight to build a marriage and a family...it has been an incredible challenge, but so worth it! We have faced many tough times and multiple battles...but, God has won the war...If God is for us, who can be against us? No one! Not even us! The last 2-3 years have been especially tough...we have seen in many ways(looking back) how hard the enemy has fought to destroy our home and our marriage...and how we had been playing right into his hands in our determination to “be right” and protect our personal rights against each other...it is never God's will that a husband and wife fight against one another...we were designed to walk through life hand in hand, facing the future with God in the lead. It is really important to remember who the real enemy is! (And Who is truly in control in the end...IF we will trust Him!)

About one year ago, as we faced some of our toughest challenges, I began to pray that God would redeem our family...our home, our marriage...our life, for the kingdom. We are no good to the kingdom with our heads down, buried in the muck of self centeredness and the “preservation of our personal rights”! Something that we were all struggling with tremendously(and still do...I mean, c'mon, we're human after all!)

Shortly after I started praying that prayer, we had a house flood!LOL! I know that sounds strange...but, you have no idea how much God did through that one event to begin the process of redemption! He cleared our home, and improved it...He gave us a way to sort through all of the clutter that had built up due to both of us working full time, combined with my becoming very ill(Thyroid issues...which He had just begun to address a couple months before.) He placed ALL of us in a very small space(8 weeks in a hotel will create a level of “contact” that can't be denied!LOL!) and forced us to face our issues as a family...

After moving back into our home, He continued the redemption for my part through my schooling. I took classes in counseling techniques and understanding addiction and alcoholism that opened my eyes to the realities of my life leading up to this point..all of the ways that my perspective had been damaged and distorted...and He showed me how that had happened to all of those around me who were struggling to cope with this family disease as well! He filled me with compassion and forgiveness and set me free from years of regret, pain and shame. It was an incredible ride...Now I have this sense that He has renovated those rooms in my heart that were ravaged by the storms of life, and He then walked out, dusted His hands off and closed the door. I don't live there anymore...I can walk back into those rooms with someone who is suffering from those frustrations and that kind of pain...I can share and I can empathize and I can pray...and then, I can leave and live my life in the light...what a healing experience! I look forward to seeing all of the ways that God will use all that He showed me in those classes for the kingdom!

He then set about restoring our finances and helping us gain balance. If there is one thing about blended families that is really difficult to grasp, it's the blending of two homes...two household leaders...two styles of handling money, etc...add to that a young marriage and the emotional needs of many children and you have the recipe for a real financial mess. But, little by little He revealed to us where our thinking was wrong...and where we needed to look to Him for direction, strength, perspective and guidance. We are currently enrolled in a series of financial classes at the church, and we are SO excited to see it all start coming together! Again, we are witnesses to His redemption and amazing grace in our lives...

But, that is not all! LOL! (Is it ever with God?!) For the rest of the story so far, read the following post!! =) We genuinely need your prayers...and, please, feel free to share your thoughts with us!

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Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! I look forward to reading your perspective! Blessings, Jeanene