Posted on 06/05/2021 3:45:22 PM PDT by Mrs. Warrior
The Apostle Paul tells us that he was taken up into the third heaven and saw things to glorious for words. Then he relates to us that least he should be exalted above measure a “thorn in the flesh” was given him by the Lord. Many scholars debate exactly what that “thorn in the flesh” may have been but regardless, he prayed for the Lord to deliver him from it, but the Lord told him that “My grace (free and undeserved favor) is sufficient for you”. Daily, the grace of God is supplied to meet all of our needs, for those who are in Christ. Trust Him.
I grew up in a family that had eleven children, five from each previous marriage and one of their own, it was a combined family thrown together with not enough love to make it work. On one occasion the older boys began to raid the kitchen during night time and the result was an Inquisition to find out who was taking the food from the mouths of everyone else. I was a teenage girl maturing into a young woman and I was growing and filling out and so I was chosen as the one to bear the punishment. I truly was not guilty of that offense, however I was told how sinful and greedy I was. I was sent down into the dark musty stone walled, dirt floored basement of the old house we lived in and given only water. I was so scared so I started to make up stories to comfort myself and in the cavernous underground darkness a seed was germinating; a story writer was being born!
When I was finally set free, I burst into the sunlight so grateful to have survived, I made a vow to myself that when I was on my own I would eat all the foods I wanted without restriction from another.
Later, in high school, I desired to become a missionary nurse, however, when I asked my step father about going to college he told me that I was to stupid to waste money on. He would not pay for a child not his own and he never did, to my knowledge.
As my dreams crashed around me, God, who had a good plan for my life brought my future husband to me. He became my doorway into a life full of freedoms and love. We married soon after I graduated from high school and we began our own journey as a young Christian couple. The first time he took me grocery shopping I was amazed at the fact that I could select the foods and envision dishes that I wanted without a worry of criticism and rejection. I was so blessed to find life on the other side of captivity!
As we grew our family and children cam e along, I wanted my family to always be able to enjoy eating good foods. However, in time, abuses from my childhood resurfaced and eating became a way to find comfort and later I found out I was a diabetic. I asked God for a special grace to be able to continue in eating freely as I had found it assuaged my grief; but then I started to have some health issues. Fast forwarding some 30 years, I continued in a situation where my comfort in food had become a dangerous situation.
Recently, my husband and now grown son gently and tenderly told me they loved me, and that I was very important to the family. They asked me to consider eating differently. I had tried to eat better before and always felt that “being locked up” feeling. However, I committed to God that I would try again and asked for every day grace to get me past those hurt feelings. God has given me the strength and grace to overcome and make a distinct change in my diet and lifestyle. Both my husband and I committed to going on the Adkins diet plan together. He is very fit and can eat anything, so it is a greatly appreciated thing that he is eating the same as I am so we can be in unity.
We also took it one step farther. After looking at the additives and extraneous ingredients in most store bought prepared products, we began to make our own foods. We make cottage cheese, the whey by-product from it is full of probiotics; putting it into fresh fruit and homemade yogurt smoothie shakes gives me energy but not excessive carbohydrates. Cooking together in our farmhouse kitchen has given me an ability to be committed and God has supplied the grace to overcome lifelong hardships. It is not easy though, as we age, together with injuries from decades of military service and military family life (some twenty household moves in as many years) arthritis and from injuries and a stroke resulting from an assault, but God promises to supply all our needs in Christ Jesus.
We find that everyday there is grace supplied by our Heavenly Father to get us through. We share the Lord's Supper or communion, daily. With the breaking of bread, we remember that Jesus' body was abused and broken for our wounds and by His stripes we are healed, and the cup represents His Blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins by our Heavenly Father, and by His resurrection we have hope for eternity.
We are reminded that our thorn in the flesh was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we could be the thorn-less fruit growing into a fresh thirst quenching drink for those who would hear and believe.
When our youngest daughter went through a divorce, we took her and our two granddaughters in to live with us. My husband became the father figure they did not have and the girls gave me a gift: they taught me how to play! After all, a grandmother is just an antique little girl!
I emptied out our master bedroom to accommodate our three additional residents and found vintage toys for them to play with and we all spent time playing with dolls and dreaming about a home. I realized God wanted me to have this time to laugh and have fun. As my granddaughters now are older (almost teens) and into I-Pods, I had to cross a generation gap and told them that love would be the bridge that keeps us connected. So, as they are growing into young women, I try to share with them how wondrous it is, and tell them they have gifts that they can develop and how to have a life with faith in God who promises to give them a special life plan. It was during this time frame that I started telling stories, some true, some fanciful, but all seem to be grounded in scripture and real life experiences
Recently I was in the swim spa when a centipede climbed by me on the edge of the pool! I was just floating in relaxation, praising God for the time and the ability to move in fluid grace in the water. I started to scream, of course. My husband, who was just outside the door peeked in and asked me why I was screaming. I said, “bad bug”. He is hard of hearing and he asked “you need a hug”? “You could have just asked”. Then he saw the bug that I was pointing at but not clearly articulating about and tried to squash it, “did you get it” I asked? “No, it has twenty six legs, and lower center of gravity, but I told that bug don't even think of coming back”. “I am ready to lower your center of gravity”.
Back tracking a bit, our daughter found a good paying job and was able to buy her own home so now we are ready to move back into the master bedroom. As we make room, I am so blessed to find a way for the play room to still be a place where I can see how God gave me all I never knew I needed, and the gratefulness for the everyday grace that makes life sweet.
This story is such a blessing. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
bkmk
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