The forty days of Lent was over last Sunday. Michelle did the best in our family with giving up candy. Yeah Michelle! Jon did great giving up soda. He had a couple of times when he forgot and ordered a soda at lunch. Yeah Jon! They both really sacrificed and got meaning out of their denial of self.
Rachel and I gave up something that was quite the challenge for us. Rachel gave up arguing with her sister. She tried and tried, but little things came up, that turned into big things. You get the picture. It was hard.
I gave up negative language. I was hoping to learn the art of listening and not speaking. Slow to speak, slow to anger... also very hard. Unfortunately, conflicts came up and I found it very hard to hold my tongue. Controlling ones tongue is one of the biggest challenges we all have. The tongue can destroy relationships and get us into big trouble. Satan loves to poke at us and get us to use our words to tear down. The tongue can be so big and mighty in good and bad ways. I was hoping to be totally focused on Christ and what HE would say. It was a lesson on how much I need HIS mercy and forgivness, which is exactly why he had to go to the cross and pay the price for my sins.
One of the reasons I really wanted to control the negativity in my life, was so I could focus on Christ and live every moment in Him. When the lesions on my liver were healed, I felt as if I had been given a gift so big, I could not be thankful enough in word, so I had to work harder to be worthy of the gift. A friend had given me a little book called "His Princess-Love Letters from Your King" by Sheri Rose Shepherd. One day, while getting my car washed, I opened up to a page I had left off on, and this is what it said:
My princess (Sandy), you are destined to win. I know how tired you often become, just by trying to do and say all the right things. Take the pressure off yourself, because I did not put it there. The world may judge you by what they see and hear, but I look within your heart, My child. I see your desire to please Me, and I see your struggle to please others. If you want to win this endurance race, you must let go of your need for the approval of others and seek My will and My pleasure. Simplify your life, and let go of the burdens that weigh you down. You'll find that My grace will lighten your step, and My favor will even draw others to join you. Yes, at times you will stumble and fall. But don't worry, I'm here to help you get back up again-as often as it takes. Make it your daily passion to run with me, and I will carry you over the finish line of your faith. Together we will win!
Love,
Your King and your Champion
I am so thankful that I have a Savior that will go the distance with me. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. God is patient and slow to anger, even when I am quick to anger. It is all part of my journey to be more like Him. Like a loving parent, he says, "I know you will make mistakes, but come to me and confess those mistakes, and I will forgive you and wipe the slate clean with my blood."
This is Holy Week, were we think about the days that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus. He knew what was ahead, but gave himself for me, for you, so that we could live free of Satan's ownership over us. Someone always has to pay the price for sin. Jesus said, "I will pay for Sandy, and for Jon, and for Rachel, and for Michelle, and for _____(your name). His only requirement is that you believe!
"Thank you" will never be enough,
Sandy
