"Tying my happy to the WRONG things is partially what caused my weight gain in the first place."-- Lysa TurKeurst
I remember when I was a young mom and had lots of little ones. I loved throwing myself into my mama role. I read books on training my children's hearts. I took great satisfaction in setting up teaching opportunities to help my children practice good behavior, and took time to stop and lovingly correct bad behavior. Sounds good, right?
Before that I invested hours in learning how to be a Godly wife. We attended seminars, read books and made purposeful plans to stay in madly love. Now that definitely sounds like a well thought out idea!
I can't help but think about our homeschooling. I did the exact same thing. I checked out every library book I could get my hands on, attended conferences, conventions and support group meetings. I invested time, money and my heart. Isn't that what any responsible homeschooler should do?
NO!
There was something wrong with each one of these situations. Do you know what it was?
One morning as I was quietly sitting before the Lord He revealed a truth that so shook my world I sat completely stunned.
I was trying to tie my happy to my marriage, my children, my homeschool. All of those things are wonderful gifts but they can't become more important than the gift-GIVER!
I want more of Jesus! I want to crave him with my whole heart. I want to wake up with overwhelming anticipation of sitting before Him, completely focused on Him. Not on my prayer list, my to-do list, or my day, but HIM!
Lord, let me only tie my happy to YOU!
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God! Psalm 84:1-2
Oh, Mary, that was wonderful! It is so easy in the daily rush to focus on the creatures we need to take care of and not carve out time to be with the Creator. We think to ourselves, "Well, God knows how much I love Him. . .and He's a big boy, right? He can take care of himself ~ my family can't." And day after day slips by without us taking the time to just let God know we love him wholeheartedly. Remember when Simon Peter saw the Lord from the boat? How he dove into the water and swam to shore, he was so eager? And they all threw themselves on Jesus' feet and worshiped him? That's what we need to do spiritually. Every day.
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