The
right thing, but I did it with the
wrong attitude.
As I stepped into the shower after
throwing my towel on the floor, I
was filled with rage. "For crying out
loud," I ranted to myself. "I can't
even take a shower in peace! Why
can't I do anything without
somebody trying to tell me what to
do?" In my frustration, I went on
and on.
Although I was a Christian and had
been in ministry teaching others for
some time, I myself lacked control
over my own mind, will, and
emotions. It was three full days
before I calmed down enough to get
over that bath towel incident.
For those three days, I was the
noisy gong and clanging cymbal
described in 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is the highest form of maturity.
It often requires a sacrificial gift. If
love doesn't require some sort of
sacrifice on our part, we probably
don't love the other person at all. If
there is no sacrifice in our actions,
we are most likely reacting to
something nice they did for us, or
simply pretending to be kind to gain
some control over them. Love is
almost always undeserved by the
person who receives it.
Our decisions should always have
our spouse's interests in mind. Even
a mediocre marriage requires
sacrifice. It is important to
understand that true love gives of
itself.
Sacrifice means you are not going to
have your way all the time. This
means both the husband and wife
are called to love each other with
unconditional love. There has to be
sacrifice of selfish desires if a couple
is going to enjoy a triumphant
marriage. As for me, every day
when I get up, I choose to have a
good marriage. I'm not leaving that
one for chance to decide!
by Joyce Meyer
The BrighterLife Magazine | Page 19
18
PREVAILING
MOTHER
I
f I have done anything in life worth
attention, I feel sure that I inherited
the disposition from my mother ~
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915)
It often happens that we cannot over-
emphasize the good that our mothers
have done for us. Worldwide, Mother's
Day is a celebrated occasion. On that
day, we seek to put aside all the
heartbreak and pain we have
encountered on our earthly journey,
focusing on the gift of our mothers'
love. Motherhood is like a flavor – a
flavor that carries both the bitter and
the sweet of life. Mothers rejoice in our
triumphs and grieve in our suffering.
They work, serve and sacrifice, so that
we can live happy, healthy and fulfilling
lives.
Being a Christian mother is very
different from simply being a mother.
As Christian mothers, we strive to
uphold the Biblical mandates entrusted
to us. In the Biblical worldview, the
mission of parents is to raise children to
follow God. To that end, God designed
the family as the primary unit in which
children are cared for, loved, trained
and empowered. This requires
patience, kindness and discipline. Being
a Christian mother encompasses a great
degree of tension. She must be kind,
without forsaking Biblical expectations,
and she must know when to let go of
the children she has nurtured.
Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord will deliver us
from them all. For many years, my only
child was healthy and active. She played
sports and represented her school in
competitions and at sports events.
While participating in her last
competition, she suffered a minor heart
attack. The doctor said she had a hole in
her heart that will close overtime. She
became greatly distressed by the
different issues arising from her
condition and, understandably, her
complaints increased. I continued to
encourage her to pray and not to lose
faith in God. Three months ago, all the
tests relating to her heart condition
came back normal. We gave God the
glory for His work in her life. Two weeks
later, at the age of nineteen, she fell and
inured her head and her mouth. When
taken to hospital, she was diagnosed
with high blood pressure, to the extent
that the doctors were concerned about
brain damage. I had to work very hard
on restoring her faith in God. She had
two brain scans, which both came back
normal.
As Christian mothers, we must trust
God. We have to believe that, as His
words say, “All things works together
for the good for them that are called
according to his purpose”. Whenever
our trials seem overwhelming it is the
time we need to pray more. We should
consistently let our children see our
faith, so that they can be reassured that
God notices their circumstances – even
when situations arise that ruin their
aspirations and hope. God is still on His
throne and He will restore all the years
that have been stolen.
Rev. Winklette Mckie
(Jamaica)