Once upon a time in Texas

Howdy y’all!

I tell you what, it’s been a pleasant week!  The good Lord decided to bless us with a little cool(er) weather and we have been loving it.  It reminds me of the days when I first met my wife.  It was a time of sweaters and bonfires and long conversations that lasted ’til dawn.  It really was the greatest time–getting to know Marie, and seeing all of it start to fall into place.  She was elegant and beautiful, and I was charming and witty.  The first time I met her I remember I asked her if she minded telling me how old she was so that I could gauge how well she looked for her age…”How cute!” she always says.  It was a time of tumult as well, of personal inventory being taken and wild oats being sown.  It didn’t take me long to start to see what a beautiful gift God was hand-wrapping for me right before my eyes.  I’ve always been a one-woman man, and not to long into getting to know her, I swore off all others and decided to wait and see if she was indeed God’s gift for me.   And from then ’til now, I love where we find ourselves–this journey filled with unlimited possibilities.  Sure we’ve had to sacrifice some things for the benefit of our young children, but we are not missing out on anything; this is our life and a beautiful on it is!

And as far as resistance, or attacks, or even the opinions of others go…while they are just part of life, and opinions are like arse holes, I still maintain:

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.“
Isaiah 54:13

and

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.“
Psalm 91:9-16

It won’t touch us!  That’s the beauty of it, I have never in my life experienced such a great peace and joy.  It’s like no matter what happens around us or to us, we will come through it…life’s “colorful” parts are no longer oppressively heavy.  It’s amazing!

My family is my life and the one right thing in my existence (aside from Jesus Christ, that is).  That time not so long ago is when I finally discovered my calling and that precious gift worth my fighting for–these three that share my roof!  God gave me a promise back then, and even in the midst of the ebb and flow of life, it still rings true.  That is the beauty of His working in our lives: that even when life gets hard and we start to doubt ourselves, and even if it seems as though the whole world is against you; there is always the hope and the peace that He supplies when we simply stop trying to be in control of a situation that is beyond us, and lean on what He has said.

Jesus also painted a beautiful word-picture of this for us in Matthew:

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.“
Matthew 7:24-27

That sounds kind of scary if you find yourself on the wrong side of this parable, but it is a great comfort when you know you are where you are supposed to be.  I’ll be the first to tell you that we can walk a long piece in our lives holding onto a melting mound of sand, and all the time looking with disbelief at what is really happening–trying to convince ourselves, those around us, and maybe even God that what we are attempting to do is God-breathed.  But the sad/awesome reality of it is that no matter how well we can forge God’s signature in the things of this life, there is nothing hidden that will not be brought to light–be it in this life or that to come.  And we can’t fake out or outrun God…He’s not going to fall for our subtlety or attempted sleight of hand.  He’s got the best and He is just waiting for us to turn and ask Him for it.

Getting back to what I was saying, this minor weather change has been for me another reminder that He is in control and this life is a gift and should be a joy regardless of what comes or who or what “rageth” in our lives.  It is so awe-inspiring to finally see things full circle…every plan of mine falling away and being where and with and who in the right place.  And next year I know that I will be saying the same thing, having a little more insight into all that He has been doing from as far back as I can remember.  We don’t claim to know what tomorrow holds, but will continue on one day at a time, as we always have, with the attitude that even if this is the last day of our lives, we lived it with purpose and while being true to ourselves, each other, and most importantly, God.

Peach out,

Critino

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~ by 54nd5urf3r on September 13, 2011.