Elohim February 2015 | Page 30

answer is “yes it is possible” and that God loves it when families thrive and draw upon Him for his strength and grace, which I have so desperately and unashamedly needed from the moment I started my journey of motherhood. Many times I would hear the Holy Spirit speak to my heart and say: “a healthy household has My love at the very centre of it.” Too often culture will tell us that we need to feed our kids only organic food, bake sugar free cookies and to have the latest educational apps or toys for our children to be healthy and confident. The more I hear God speak to my heart the more convinced I am that everything comes down to love. A healthy household must be filled with the love of God. That kind of love is always patient, always kind and never keeps records of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Too often we replace real genuine heartfelt love with counterfeit materialistic things. We (myself included) sometimes allow distractions to come our way such as social media or the dream of ‘one day’ and that robs us from drawing upon the love of the Father to pour into our family, friends and those around who we may not even know. Even if our families are filled with the latest gadgets or the best toys they will remain in poverty unless they are filled with love. Mother Teresa summed this up when she said “the most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved”. During all the busyness, housework, cooking, dirty nappies, making ends meet, commitments such as church and work, are we allowing an atmosphere of loneliness and feeling unloved to be created in our household? The Bible so clearly tells us that there Page 30 is no greater thing than love. Nothing is greater! I remember going through a stage, and I know I’m not alone, where I’d think the dreams and desires I have are so far out of reach, all of ‘my’ time has disappeared. Well actually I would say that I am dying to myself, and I didn’t mean that in a Godly sense I would say it having a pity party where I was the only one attending. Maybe, just maybe, the time and season of having little ones, that are actually a blessing from the Lord, can teach us some incredibly valuable lessons. Such as dying to yourself so Christ will live freely through you, learning not to take yourself too seriously, how to have childlike faith and how to enjoy the simple things in life. The Christian life is not about success it is about faithfulness. Are we being faithful stewards of the children the Father has entrusted us with, and are we allowing ourselves to be emptied of our selfish desires to be filled with His love? Mother Teresa also said that “love begins at home, and it’s not how much we do...but how much love we put into action.” A healthy household is a place that allows love to be planted right in the centre, allowing it to take root in every area, every motive and every action. Material things can never replace love. I look forward to the day when my children will take the love they have received in their home and use it to spread the goodness of God.` bbbbbbbb