Fill Your Home with Peace

I have to work very hard these days to concentrate. My thoughts are on my grandson that will be making his appearance in this world any day now. I've made suggestions on what days would be good for us, but so far no one is paying attention to those suggestions. I added an extra class to my school schedule this summer… not a bright idea. Why didn't I think about how busy I would be with the new grandbaby and my step-daughters coming for visits and all the fun stuff that one would rather be doing on beautiful summer days, like floating in the pool or golf, my new hobby, instead of being cooped up inside reading a couple of hundred pages of school work every day? Not the smartest decision on my part, but now I have to live with it.

My thoughts are also on my wonderful husband this morning as well. God is really opening up the eyes of this still newly wed wife. You see, for seven years I had no spouse to think about. My household was run my way and my way alone. I ate as I pleased and when I pleased. Sleeping patterns were unimportant. Being a neat freak and a little OCD on the house cleaning was not a problem. I could stack the dishes in the drainer the perfect way, keep my floors clean enough to eat on, have bath rugs that aren't really practical, have feminine and elegant furniture without worrying about big bulky furniture to fit a big bulky man. I didn't have to contend with muddy work boots sitting in my kitchen or boats and trucks taking up space in my yard.

But I also didn't have anyone there to encourage me when life was pressing in on me. I didn't have big strong arms to fall into when I just couldn't take the pressures of life. I didn't have someone who prayed for me every day or who was more than willing to go to spiritual battle and fight for me when I was just too weak. There was no laughter and giggles late into the night. There was no blissful chaos and teenage girl dramas to work through. There were no hugs from those same girls that had just about driven me insane only moments before.

It's been a challenge, to say the least. I want everyone around me to understand how I am about my house and cheerfully join in on the quest to keep it perfect. And my car…well…I have no idea how it gets so dirty, so quick. Does someone sneak in at night and shovel in dirt and grass while I'm sleeping? Can't anyone besides me see that a Laura Ashley bath mat is not really meant for piles of wet clothes to be laid on? Doesn't anyone understand that a dresser and closet are meant to hold clothes…not the floor? Why is it that dirt and grass don't stick to the bottom of my shoes when I walk in the house, but seem to linger on the clothes and shoes of everyone else? Oh, my friends, thank God that He gives us humor and laughter in this life!

I've found myself more and more lately wanting to make known my frustrations of trying to keep my life the way it was and wondering why everyone has not adapted to MY ways as of yet. But God gently tapped me on the shoulder this morning and reminded me of several things. For instance, I didn't have to leave my house and almost all my belongings and move into a strange feminine house with only my clothes and hunting stuff. I didn't have to go from being a bachelor who had never heard of Laura Ashley only to find myself asking my crew of men to help me search the world over for a new petal pink bath mat that I ruined when I tried to be helpful and washed it with the black bath mat. I've never had to wade in mud and weeds up to my waist for days at a time and then worry about where I could take off my work boots and muddy clothes as not to get the house dirty. I've not been considered the manliest of men and bodybuilders only to come home to a house that the furniture all seems too small and delicate and there are so many flowers and pictures of flowers around that I'm afraid to move out of fear of being swallowed up by them. I've never had to move into someone else's domain where there wasn't even room for my most beloved treasures (deer heads) and had to watch them all be stored away in someone's garage like common garage sale items.

God reminded me that when humans try to coexist…there will be frustrations…for all. This morning as I read the wise words of Proverbs 29:11, “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back,” I realized that to vent my frustrations would only add to the frustrations of my dear husband who works so very hard to try to make my life perfect. So my little perfect world isn't perfect anymore in the way of how I keep my house in order or exactly how I do things. What is that compared to what really matters in life? I am loved beyond my wildest dreams. I am spoiled rotten. I get to spend every day with my best friend in the whole world. I have a husband who would go to the ends of the earth just to get me a Laura Ashley petal pink bath mat...which, by the way, they don't make anymore…but we searched high and low and found one left in the world that was on clearance. I have a husband that I know will serve in the ministry with me all the days of our lives. I have a husband who supports me in anything I even think I might want to do. He's not perfect by any means, thank goodness; because if he were perfect, he wouldn't want to spend his life with this woman who is definitely not perfect.

So many times we expect the people in our lives to mold to us perfectly. But the truth is, iron sharpens iron. The differences that grate on us in relationships are what molds us and helps us work on areas of patience and forgiveness and grace and mercy. We learn to love people as they are, not as we want them to be. What would happen if our Father above could only love us and stand being around us when we fit perfectly into His ideal mold? He knows we are not perfect, and He loves us just the way we are. That's not to say that He does not correct us when it's needed, but it means that He is patient with us and bestows great amounts of mercy and grace as we try to figure out how to live each day. We also have to realize that while we are being patient and merciful with others, they are being patient and merciful with us. There are many times when it is our own lives in which changes need to be made. I'm so thankful that my husband and family and friends and most of all, God, are patient with me and show me mercy and grace even when it is not deserved.

His Princess

Love Letters From Your King

By Sheri Rose Shepherd

My Princess…

Fill your home with peace

Peace I leave with you;

Peace I give you.

I do not give as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled…

John 14:27

I know how hard it is for you to feel content in your home when you're always wanting one more thing to make it the perfect place. I long to give you beautiful things that turn a house into the haven of a home; but My princess, you must first learn to let Me build in you a place of peace and contentment. Do your best to rest in Me and wait for Me, and then I will give you what I know will benefit you the most. I want you to make your home a place that builds relationships and reflects who you are in Me. Remember that your loved ones need you more than any material thing. So decorate your home with joy, fill it with timeless memories, and create a safe place to grow up in Me.

Love,

Your King and your Resting Place