Saturday, August 15, 2015

Sharing a Bend in the Road . . . or Gossip? You Decide

This morning like always I began my day first with reading the encouraging word courtesy of K-Love and then I checked my blog stats and lastly I opened up facebook to see if I had any messages. This is the only message I was greeted with:

Hi Wendy I was quite saddened to read a posting of yours that contained derogatory comments of your spouse. If a husband cannot trust his wife to defend him then what does that say ? The bible gives warning of the destructive power of gossip in several places . Here is one such admonition from Proverbs 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down to the innermost parts of the belly." Also Proverbs 17:9 "He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter seperateth closest of friends."Proverbs 17:9. I pray the word of the Lord will speak to you itself. Believe we are living in the days of sifting and where God is separating the true from the counterfeit and one has to show genuineness that they bear the nature of Christ and without mixture. No longer place for lukewarmness , it is either serve God entirely or not at all . As far as friendship here on facebook is concerned our likes seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. No ill feelings just must stay true to my convictions or they mean nothing.Shalom.

I have written this person back but have yet to hear back from them. It was a man that wrote this to me. I took the time to make sure I had the word 'derogatory' itself correct in my mind and according to the dictionary, it states that the meaning is: "expressing a low opinion of someone or something : showing a lack of respect for someone or something".

In my heart I do not feel I have committed this crime. As I re-read several of my posts, I see honesty regarding my situation and the truth that often I fall short of the glory of God. I openly admit that I have much progress to make to reveal Jesus Christ to Mike.

It is my belief that in my being open and honest in regards to my life that I am helping others. We are the church. If we hide all of our troubles behind closed doors, pretending all is well, then we are by all rights harming ourselves and in a way blocking any healing we are meant to receive or deliver. I think that is the biggest problem within our churches today. We sit in our pews listening and pretending that we are living perfect lives when the reality is we all face trials and tribulations. I know the full scope of what goes on behind my closed doors so when I read my own words, I truly feel I am being kind and am not gossiping. If I were to tell everything that goes on word for word, verbatim, and trashed Mike that would be one thing. That is not what I do. In a way, by admitting that he falls short due to his lack of faith and knowledge of God is in a way defending him. By openly admitting that he has no relationship with the LORD reveals the truth that he walks in darkness and does not see the truth in himself. 



I pray for Mike daily. When I talk to him, I often come to the table and share scripture. I don't hide what I blog. I ask him about his thoughts. It is in our discussions that I have come to know several things about the Word of God:

Not everyone gets it. They read without understanding if they read Scripture at all. When they do read and listen, they can twist Scripture in ways that reveal how evil the evil one truly is. It can make your Spirit feel as if it's heart were punched out at times. That is the depths of how sad witnessing such deception can be. It is not completely their fault. The devil can blind and deafen a person, cause them to see what is not there and believe what is not true. Their own Free Will often becomes their worst enemy, for God will not force you to succumb to Him.

(2 Corinthians 3:14, NASB) But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. [15] But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; [16] but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. [17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [18] But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 

(Isaiah 44:18, NASB) They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

Because of FREE WILL, one has to desire truth to see and hear it. We can only pray that they begin to desire. I often pray this prayer for Mike, "Lord if he so much as turns to you in flash of curiosity, please reveal yourself in such a way that he cannot deny you are His LORD and Savior. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

I promise you, I have often wished I could take all that is in my heart where the LORD is concerned and transfer it directly into Mike. He would literally be a different person were he to become a believer. I know this because I became a different person. I often say, "You would not like to know me and my thoughts without Christ's input!" 

That is a major reason I also pray for myself! I know that I am a work in progress. I know that since Mike is not a believer the evil one is able to use him as a weapon against me. It is through my sharing my life that often I find myself strengthened through my own testimony for the LORD often takes me to places in the Bible that help heal my soul. 

It is true that often I too fall to the flesh and react instead of turning the other cheek. Those moments do not make me proud, but as I have mentioned before I truly am 'just a girl' walking through life like the rest of you. I am far from perfect. I do my best to wear my armor and to keep my focus on the truth. Being pregnant does not help when it comes to keeping my emotions in check and it is in confessing my own shortcomings that I am able to reset myself as well as forgive myself. 

I refuse to pretend that my life is perfect for I believe in truth. I believe in my heart I have not made derogatory comments when it comes to Mike. I have shared truths from our relationship and truly am curious as to how I am to defend him outside of pointing out the truth that he does not read God's Word, follow Christ, much less believe in Him, and since he does not, how on earth am I to judge him as if he did? It is not my place. I can only pray for him. I can only ask for prayers for him.

I am fully convinced that I am not the only woman who has found herself unequally yoked. I know the battles that are waged when the scale is out of whack. It can be ugly. God takes our ugly and turns it into something pretty. How can He do that if we are all unwilling to share the ugly in our lives? 

When God first called me forth to share my life in written form, I truly was taken aback and downright scared. I had BIG secrets that I didn't want the world to know. After all, 'What would they think of me?' In all honesty, I could not stop myself from obeying the call. Like I literally could not ignore it. The fear of not stepping forward outweighed the fear of what anyone might think of me. Hence, I cared more about how God felt than how I felt. The same remains true today. 

A really good friend of mine told me recently, "God is not calling you to a ministry of normal so what you do is going to look different." 

I have to agree with her assessment. My story is not the norm, but there are chapters that resonate with many. I know in my heart God is using me to reach others caught, who don't have the relationship that I do. How can they get my faith, if they don't understand that I am in their very shoes? There are parts of my personal story that I don't put out there. The LORD has not pulled at me to go into all the tiny details. Since He does not lead me to, I don't. 

It is truly my desire to reveal the glory of God working in my crazy, broken life. It is my prayer that this is what my readers see. I cringe to think I may be viewed as a mere gossip.

If I have offended anyone by the things I share from my life, I apologize. I would suggest that my blog is not for you. I write as I am led by God. It is not the most comfortable thing in the world to reveal my own shortcomings to the entire world. I guess if it was, that would make what I do easy. Sharing my heartache, my shortcomings, my trials and tribulations is often a bit scary, but it is what God called me forth to do. 

Seeing how it is Super Silly Sing Song Saturday and the topic of this blog seems to be on the openness of being 'broken' this is the song I am sharing today:

Broken Together by Casting Crowns:

What do you think about when you look at me
I know we're not the fairy tale you dreamed we'd be
You wore the veil, you walked the aisle, you took my hand
And we dove into a mystery

How I wish we could go back to simpler times
Before all our scars and all our secrets were in the light
Now on this hallowed ground, we've drawn the battle lines
Will we make it through the night?

It's going to take much more than promises this time
Only God can change our minds

Maybe you and I were never meant to be complete
Could we just be broken together
If you can bring your shattered dreams and I'll bring mine
Could healing still be spoken and save us
The only way we'll last forever is broken together

How it must have been so lonely by my side
We were building kingdoms and chasing dreams and left love behind
I'm praying God will help our broken hearts align
And we won't give up the fight

It's going to take much more than promises this time
Only God can change our minds

Maybe you and I were never meant to be complete
Could we just be broken together
If you can bring your shattered dreams and I'll bring mine
Could healing still be spoken and save us
The only way we'll last forever is broken together

Maybe you and I were never meant to be complete
Could we just be broken together
If you can bring your shattered dreams and I'll bring mine
Could healing still be spoken and save us
The only way we'll last forever is broken together

Songwriters
HALL, JOHN MARK / HERMS, BERNIE

Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group




Here is a link to the YouTube video for those that would like to hear it:


If you are someone who has enjoyed this post, I invite you to read my book. It is my prayer that this collection of 36 True Life Stories compiled into one complete book will help all who read it. I know God intends to bless many through my story for that is the purpose of Him calling me to write it! 


Father, I come before you today asking for more grace. Let my words be words of healing and not viewed as words of gossip Please help my book become a vehicle that helps others, encouraging them to seek You and giving them hope should they need that. Father as always, I ask that you unblind the blind and open the ears of the deaf. Alot each person with more understanding. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God, mom of many.








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