Don't Keep It To Yourself

 “The next generation is your story away from glory.”

Many have made statements that sum up the same thought. Maybe I even overheard that line somewhere. But it came to mind and I want to briefly ponder it here with you.

When I look in the mirror, I no longer see the young vivacious woman I used to be.  I’m older, and I believe a little wiser. I also recognize that I won’t live forever. If I pay attention to my children and grandchildren, I notice that they too are growing older. Gray in the beards of my sons, grandchildren succeeding in their chosen career fields makes me contemplate what I’m waiting for.

The upcoming generations need to hear our stories, and the generations after them will need to hear their stories.

Some of us tend to be private people and courtesy of social media, we can sometimes feel like we’re connecting when in reality – we’re disconnecting from the people around us.

We tell ourselves, “They don’t want to hear my stories…. They want something quick and colorful; something they can read in a few seconds and keep scrolling.” Or perhaps, “I can’t share THAT story with her…”

But whether they want to hear our stories or not, they need to hear them – at least some of them.

I’m not suggesting you bear your soul to everyone. Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you converse with those around you.

We need to be sharing the good that God has done in our lives so that the people God brings across our paths can stir up their faith and build up their hope as they go through their own situations.

To reveal God’s redemption in our lives may involve telling some sticky stories we don’t want to revisit. We’ll find that sharing these victory stories involve sharing the battles they came from – and this will stir up our own faith as well.

So many times, in the Old Testament of the Bible, God instructs His people to recant their history for the upcoming generations. It wasn’t merely to record their history, but to demonstrate God’s power through each trial they faced and to point out the mistakes they made and how God dealt with them, so that the next generation could benefit by it.

Granted, we don’t always learn from the past or from the mistakes of the people around us. Sometimes we’re stubborn and have to test the waters for ourselves. But while we’re biting off more than we can chew, with victory stories from those around us in mind, we’re more likely to trust that God is – and that He loves us and will bring us through.

Our world needs hope.

God has already provided that hope – through His Word, through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus – and through the word of our testimony; the sharing of our stories.is His

Cast aside the fear of embarrassment. Even the Apostle Paul asked for prayer that he would be bold with the good news of Jesus and the words of his testimonies. (Ephesians 6:18-20 here)

A favorite scripture comes to mind.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their own lives unto death.” – Revelation 12:11 (KJV)

State of the Union Address

(picture from grandhaventribune.com)

Here in America, we regularly sit in front of our televisions or other internet accessing devices, to watch the leader of our great country expound on the state of affairs under his control. We call this the State of the Union Address.

Here in the Williams’ household, my husband and I occasionally sit down and discuss the state of our union. This fall we’ll celebrate thirty-seven years of a terrific marriage and, no doubt, this educational discussion plays a role in that longevity.

But let’s expand further. Every relationship we’re in is a union. What’s the state of those unions? Some are in disrepair and in much need of an overhaul. But, where do we start?

It’s hard to work on any relationship when only one of the parties in the union is aware that there are problems; perhaps impossible. One spouse doesn’t make the marriage work. There are plenty of marriages where one spouse (or perhaps both) is “putting up with” the other without saying a word. So, in name, the marriage exists, but the relationship is not “working”. In order for it to work well for both parties, information on the state of affairs needs to be communicated back and forth.

The same is true about all relationships, be it parent/child, boss/employee or friend to friend. In order for both parties to benefit fully from the relationship, it needs to work for both of them. Now, in a boss/employee relationship if the boss is getting what he’s paying for and the employee is content with what he’s being paid, in essence it’s working for both of them. Perhaps that’s all the relationship necessary. However, the more disclosure there is about what’s expected from each party, the more satisfactory the relationship will be.

In many relationships, we assume what’s expected of us; and we assume the other party knows what we expect from them. Not so. We all know what happens when we assume. Yet, we continue to do it.

This may be a lame example, but, if I assume Dave expects me to put his clean laundry away for him, I might be surprised to discover that it annoys him completely that I mix his socks with his underwear. We can avoid that frustration by discussing the issue. He can put his own clothes away, or I can learn his little idiosyncrasies. But without communication, a simple frustration can eventually lead to a big argument.

The same goes for all of our friendships. If we value our friends, we owe it to ourselves and to them to explore a state of the union address when necessary. We may be burdening ourselves down needlessly. We may be imagining offense where there is none. Or we may be the source of another’s exaggerated frustrations.

Now, unlike our president’s state of the union address, where there is no intelligent exchange of ideas, simply a rendition of what’s on the paper or teleprompter before the most powerful man in American politics [ahem], we can actually benefit by our commitment to the exchange of ideas about how things sit within our relationships. One person can never have absolute say over the union if the other is to feel valued.

One of my favorite scriptures comes from an Old Testament book: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:” ~ Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) Our Creator goes on to say, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Even in His omnipotence and in His mercy, while pouring out elaborate grace on us, He invites us to reason together with Him. By example, He teaches us to reason with each other.

Who came to mind? What relationship in your life seems one-sided? Pray over the idea of exploring a state of the union exchange with that person, entering the conversation with grace and instruction from God. Divine insight goes a long ways.

This state of the union address is simply a conversation addressing the state of your union.

Trusting

“See, I knew it! I knew you’d do it again,” she screamed in a fit of rage, storming out of the room. “Once a cheater, always a cheater," her voice trailed off behind the slammed door.

What do you harbor in your heart – so that you can be “right” later? What do you hide there “just in case” you might need to fall back on it later?

You can’t truly trust someone if you’ve tucked that fear into the back corners of your heart.  You don’t want to be “right” later, you want that fear to never come to pass. You want to be free of it. Letting it go won’t necessarily be easy, but waiting for it to show up and slap you in the faced hinders your ability to live in the here and now.

Do you remember what Job said? “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”  Job 3:25 (KJV)

Don’t collect fears in your heart, there’s too much life to be lived in trust.

Hurts may come your way again, cross those bridges when you come to them. But the hurt you’re secretly dreading may never happen. And honestly, if you’re hanging onto that fear, you’re not living in trust, and if you’re not trusting, you’re not really living.

Pull that fear weed out of the garden of your life – and give it over to God or it may grow and consume you. Once it’s gone, you’ll be able to see beauty blossoming everywhere. A negative, “I knew it!” is a blinder keeping the finer things in life at a distance.