I know my faults

When we decide to become Christians, Christ followers, we also decide to give all of our faults and failures to Jesus.  When we ask him to forgive us He does.  Then we live the rest of our Christ following lives striving to be more like Him.  Will we ever achieve perfection? Absolutely not.  But that is no excuse to remain the way we were before we became Christians.  We are not supposed to remain the same, otherwise what is the point?

If we remain the same, we go to church but we do not live a redeemed life.  We come out the same way we went in Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.  What's the point of going?  Oh, wait, you thought I would tell you my faults? No! I will tell you that it is important that we all know our faults.  We should not ignore them or make excuses for them, we should confront them and daily work to overcome them. As I said before, we will never be perfect but our heart will be different. 

Our heart,  that is the key.  Every time I think about the condition of the heart, I think about King David.  He did so many bad things, made bad decisions, but God loved him because his heart was always in the right place and he was repentant.  He knew his faults.  We have to know our faults, confess our faults, and work on them daily.  Sometimes we will fail miserably, and other times we will gain the victory.  Psalm 51 tells the story of when Nathan the prophet called David out for committing murder and adultery.  Those are two pretty heavy duty sins, but God forgave him.  Oh, he punished him, but He forgave him.    

As I look back over the years, I can without a doubt say that I have changed for the better.  My family sees the changes as they look back over the years too.  It is important to me that others see the changes in me, but most of all it is important that God sees the change.  When He sees the changes He trusts us more.  When He trusts us more He tests us more.  The thing about God trusting us more is that He can allow some really painful things into our lives.  Maybe that is why some people are content with their personal status quo. 

Just a few years ago I would never have asked forgiveness of the person who methodically worked to successfully toss me out of something I started.  I learned quite a bit about that situation and about my growth. In fact, when things like this happen, it should teach us about our future decision-making process.  Never let anything bad or good, go to waste.  God doesn't.    

I have never been a status quo person.  Good enough is not good enough.  That personality trait tends to drive some people crazy, but again I say, status quo cannot be good enough.  Let us grow daily and not remain on the same level for the rest of our lives, otherwise, what is the point?

The grass is not greener

If I had a nickel, no a penny, for every time someone said to me "You have it easy because you're single no dependents", or "You can get up and go whenever you want", or "You're not married, oh I'm sorry" (queue the violins playing in the background), or my personal favorite, "Oh you don't want to be married, having a husband is like having another child", I would be a multi-millionaire.  Fortunately I have come to view money as  a tool, so those millions of dollars would be used to further The Kingdom of God; but alas, I digress.

The fact is, if you are married, with or without children, then God bless you; but please do not look over the fence and tell me how easy my life is.  Just like married people, single people have bills to pay, we have to work long hours, save for emergencies, and save for retirement.  In fact, as single people we had better plan properly for  our elder years or we may find ourselves in deeper trouble than our married  counterparts.  Have you thought about that?  I am not trying to transmit hater vibes, I just want all of us to view life from different vantage points.  Married people have struggles and single people have struggles.  On whatever side of the fence we find ourselves, we must strive to be content, to do the best with what we have and where we are in life.  "...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound". Philippians 4:11-12.  I don't usually like to pluck portions of verses out, but you get my meaning, and I don't believe I'm taking anything out of context.  Of course, why not just take a moment to read the entire chapter of Philippians?  

Bottom line, if you are married, strive to strengthen your marriage relationship.  For those of us who are single, we must strive to strengthen our relationships, know and be comfortable with who we are, and do not allow ourselves or anyone else to make us feel second class. 

Lastly, married or single, we must be careful whom we allow to speak into our lives.  Life is short and it definitely does not always turn out as we expect.  The best course of action: We should do the best with what we have, and live our best life ever, married or single.