Yesterday I was given some information that absolutely grieved my spirit. The reason it grieved my spirit was because God had already laid a particular person on my heart and asked that I pray that she come to Him to meet her needs. She decided to do it her way instead. *sigh* These type of interactions always make me hesitant in thinking about the teenage years for my own children, as I wonder if I will react in a Godly manner if they do rebel. Will I react out of fear or discouragement? And will I give grace as He would?
Anyhow, after I learned this information, I went to the Father in prayer to find rest for the weariness of this news. In the past, here’s what I would have done instead.
When I was a youth, I would have talked to my mother.
When I was a young adult, I would have called my friends.
When I was still a young single woman, I might have called my mom or sister and/or a friend.
After I married, I would have cried on my husband’s shoulder.
When I was older and didn’t feel I could call my mom or friends, I would have posted some sort of cryptic status on facebook.
In the recent past, I would have asked my accountability group to pray with me before I went to God.
I almost went to my husband first, but it didn’t feel right.
I don’t think any of these things are inherently wrong. Each situation must be individually weighted. However, I think this shows a path to maturity and growing up in Him.
And I look at that path, and I am surprised by it. I grew up in a culture, where information was never sacred and was always shared. In fact, it is still that way today and people are still talking about people in unfortunate ways. It is so ingrained as part of the culture, that most people are unable to separate themselves from this way of life. They are unable to change. And yet I am a product of this culture, and I am being changed. The only way this is possible is by receiving parenting and discipline and power from the Most High. I’m not prone to outright gossip, malicious gossip. But I am prone to ponder over a situation with another person, which is inadvertently gossiping. Especially when I do not understand a situation or am troubled by it, I tend to want to talk it out. This pathway is not a testimony to my goodness but of the overwhelming power of a God who loves me so much He transforms me.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8
