Clearing the Plate for a Fresh Start
Before I start meal prep I like to organize, clean and ensure I have all the ingredients necessary. To ensure success in our lives and our relationships we can benefit from this philosophy. If our minds and hearts are cluttered with mistakes of the past and focused on character flaws of our spouse it will be impossible to make something new and fresh each day.
I remember early on in our marriage I grumbled to God, “ Why don't you fix this man you gave me? "
God's reply was quite shocking, "How dare you, I love him just as he is!”
(Mic drop!)
My counters were so cluttered with the past shortcomings and even a few failures, that I could not dive into cooking something new in my marriage. I was starving my marriage! I needed to incorporate fresh ingredients and add a dash of restoration and balance nutrition in my relationship with my husband. The comical truth is that Curtis was and remains an amazing husband.
The lens that we use to look at our spouses is that times blurred by the crud of life. We are not seeing clearly through God's perspective. Pastor Wayne Cordero from Oahu put it this way ”holding a grudge is like wearing a stinky lay around your neck and wondering why everyone around you smells bad.”
Today let's commit to clearing the way for something fresh and new in our marriages. try this: allow God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to help you list 10 of your spouses
best qualities. Keep them handy and ready to sharet anytime you are tempted to criticize or grumble against them.
Here's an example of mine:
- Honest
- Tenacious
- Faithful
- Committed
- Keeps himself physically fit
- Loves God's word
- Doesn't compromise his ethics
- Excellent at the work of his hands
- Works hard for me and his family
- Is open to input
Happy Honeymooning!
Matthew 7:4 How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye.