Redefining Hero

Life truth: none of us can control what happens to us in life.  The truly inspirational are those who take the trash they are given and make a beautiful treasure.  (I really don't like lemons to lemonade because lemons really aren't that bad, heck my son eats them plain).

I was amazed a few weeks ago as I watched a man who had lost a leg in an accident and decided not to let it get him down.  He began training for America Ninja Warrior and blew everyone away with how far he made it down the course.  That is triumph.

Not every obstacle is physical and sometimes the hardest to navigate are the ones that no one can see.  Let me introduce you to my friend, we will call her Mira.  Mira discovered a little over three years ago that her husband was having an affair and it wasn't his first.  She found her life instantly changing as he announced he was done and didn't even want to try to work it out, despite their children and many years together.  Can we be honest, this happens more than just to my friend, Mira, doesn't it?! Its easy to tell poor Mira to suck it up and move on because this is reality in 2018.

That didn't happen.

Mira allowed God to reveal areas where she wasn't giving her all to her marriage, but also to HIM.  Mira took a look at herself and decided to meet God in the midst of life.  She leaned into God and discovered a new relationship she had yet to encounter.  I can tell you, she is a different person today.

We hear a lot from Christians on their disdain for the unBiblical life of homosexuals in our world, what we don't hear is their distaste for things like having sex outside of marriage, living with a sexual partner you aren't married to, and divorce itself.  All of those are also wrong, according the Bible.  We aren't allowed to pick and choose, we believe it or we don't.  We don't get to say, "Well, this is my struggle, so I will let this slide, but this over here is yours so I get to stone you with your wrong doings."  The Bible isn't a weapon and it doesn't just state right and wrong but how we are to love in the midst of life.  That often gets forgotten, but I digress.

Mira took her calling seriously.  She committed her relationship with her husband to God.  It was amazing as I watched her prayers create and change things that everyone said were impossible.  Now, I'd love to tell you she and her husband are back together loving each other and God, but that isn't the case.

Mira still believes.  She still hopes in God despite circumstances. While so many would say she is foolish - I see the spiritual warrior that has emerged and it humbles me.  She has become my hero.  God gets the final say and just because the world says something is over, doesn't mean it is.  We don't know what will happen and honestly, that isn't the point.  We do know God is in control and he is working and Mira gets to see what he does at each step. 

Talking and praying with her has changed me too.  I see a faith we were all called to live.  I see the beauty she is creating for herself and her kids as she makes room for God at the helm of her life.  Mira sees that the true enemy is Satan and she won't give up on God's best.  She is fighting with spiritual weapons, the ones far too many of us have left on the ground in our feeble attempts to conquer our own lives.

What trash are you holding?  How can you give it to God, lean in to him and allow his love to change you and create beauty?


Exodus 14:14 says, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (NIV)

I hope you will see the hero inside of yourselves as you seek God in life and allow him to do his job.  A hero isn't always the one who comes in and saves the day - a hero is also the person who hands life to God and says, "What now?" The hero is the one that takes what life has given them and keeps going, refusing to give in to defeat! Trust me, you are worth more than the junk that keeps you down.  The details are different for us all, but the struggle is the same.  Please fight for yourself.  I'm here and I'm praying, so be the hero you were meant to be!!!

Spiritual Life - This Soap Box Moment is Brought to You By...

Marriage demonstrates that God has a sense of humor. He'd have to, right?! Two people becoming one. Spend 3 seconds in my home and you will see that my husband and I are very different people, and to say we are of one mind could be a bit in a comedy sketch by any comedian of our day. Yet, marriage isn't funny!

Marriage is a commitment not only between two people, but most importantly, God. Marriage is sacred, but the lack of respect paid to this sacred union in our country today, has made me heartsick. I hear a lot of complaining from the Christian community about their issues with homosexual marriage being legal, but the truth is we need to rewind that tape for a long time before we begin to discuss the problems we have in dishonoring God's Word. Divorce is also listed as a sin in the Bible, yet over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and there is no difference in that statistic within the church. So if we hold God's Word and commands to such high esteem that we are willing to crucify homosexuals for their choices, why aren't we tar and feathering everyone who has been through a divorce or willing to walk away from their marriage without any real work in making it better. Let me not get derailed, this article has nothing to do with homosexual marriage, it has to do with divorce, and let's face it, our disregard for the commandments of God which begins before we even get to the topic of marriage. Sex is also considered a sin outside of marriage, but we somehow pick what we will choose to abide by and what we will blatantly disregard, meanwhile, shaking our finger at the sinners around us while we place a "do not disturb" sign above our own disobedient decisions. We have problems "Godly people." I'm not speaking from a place of perfection, I am a woman who had sex in high school, got pregnant and had an abortion. I was wrong and I am married to a man who has been married two times before I came on the scene. We all make mistakes, but there is a difference between messing up and repenting and making mistakes and calling them good.

Lately, I have watched on as men have turned their marriage into a joke as they have cheated on their spouse and left their children in the dust to shack up with their mistress. I have read books where the lead just storms out with child in tow from the one they vowed to stand by "til death us do part" and asked us, the readers, to get excited in the next chapter when their former boyfriend comes back into the picture in hopes to be the new "til death us do part." Then I have watched one of my favorite tv couples demonstrate through a scripted dialogue just how easy it is to throw away something that is divine. If we don't look into this reality and see we have a problem, then we have issues much bigger than sexually related. We have a misunderstanding of who God truly is. We have devalued the authority of God and humanity as well. Don't get me wrong, I do see couples doing whatever it takes to make their marriage work and still ending in divorce, but if those were the only cases of divorce, divorce wouldn't happen in 50% of marriages. Marriage is not dating. It isn't the same and when I see people treat it similarly leaving marriages as often as people date and break up, it upsets me greatly, especially people claiming to be followers of Christ. Reality would say we are in fact, not followers of Christ, but followers of self, walking where our desires lead us.
Why am I so angry? As I stated in the beginning, my husband and I are two very different people, we have walked quite the challenging road over the 10 years we've been together, and 8 years we've been married. There have been moments when I wondered if we would still be married at this point. At each turn in the road we have continued to fight for this commitment we made before God. I feel like each person who walks away, like they found a better job, spit in my face and mock the work I have put into my marriage. Marriage is worth fighting for and when people decide to break up someone's marriage they aren't just messing with a man and his wife but with God himself. One day we will all see what a mistake that truly is. In the meantime, I will rant. Thanks for hearing me out. I know this might not be a popular post, feel free to comment accordingly. Its quite late, and I need to sleep. Good night.