When I became the holder of a mortgage and the father of three kids, I began to understand the concern about high electric bills. I found myself coming home from work and being able to spot my house a mile away – it was the one with every light on.
One day, Lisa found me going from room to room, muttering under my breath. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m just trying to find a lightbulb that’s not turned on. I don’t want it to feel left out.”
One winter evening some time later, I drove up to the house – and saw not a single light on. At first, I thought there must be a power outage, but our neighbors’ homes were lit up.
I walked into an empty house. The silence overwhelmed me. It looked like an alien place, so I did something I thought I’d never do. I turned on most of the lights to welcome home Lisa and the kids.
That incident became one of those “lightning” moments when God impressed a truth on my heart. I realized that every blessing comes with a burden.
If God were to take my wife and children home, I would have a much smaller electric bill – and a hole in my heart the size of Texas. I soon realized that in just about every complaint lies the foundation of thanksgiving. The fact that a rainy day upsets you is due in part to the fact that you can go outside and enjoy the weather. The fact that you’re busy assumes you have a job or children. The fact that there’s a load of laundry means someone is alive to get it dirty.
It comes down to how we choose to look at it. God could remove the burden, but if he did, he would also take away the blessing.
Whenever you are tempted to complain because your kids are being kids, ask God to remind you of the blessing behind the burden. And give thanks that your dirty house, big electric bill, and messy car mean you are blessed with relationships of love.
Devotions for Sacred Parenting, 61-63
Very true, there’s a popular saying: He who prays for rain, should not complain of mud! Though difficult to see, we can trace every challenge we face to a blessing behind it, if nothing else, it’s only the living who can be disturbed with the challenges of life.
Thanks, Gary, a very timely word.
On the way to work one morning I was listening to the radio. I heard the announcer say the phrase, “I GET to ….”, rather than saying ” I HAVE to…” . Changing that one little word has helped me put things into perspective.
We have to learn always to go give thanks given to God . I personally just at this moment of my marriage life , and I harvest the fruits of the hard years to rise the Childern and give them the principle of lives with the respect to the word of God in the bible and as a family we build our relationship on the prospect of bible wisdom through the guide and shield of the holy commandments was given by God . Husband and wife love each other and serve each other with respect
What ever we planet we harvest : we work hard to keep the family together By love one another and drive the wheel of the family ship with Christ , everything goes well during hard and good time Amen . Love one another and love The Lord Jesus Christ , He is the wisdom to learn from Him Amen 🙏 People that their lives is miserable , because they are away from The Lord Jesus Christ ! Do not argument! But give it a try and ask God from your heart 💓 He will guide you , and you will be very grateful to Him Amen 🙏 you find find a big different between the light and the dark . With the light 💡 ( Christ ) you can see everything clear , while with the dark ( evil ) you could not disguise between the right road to walk through . You could fall easily in an hall without realising it .
With Christ ✝️ You will appreciate the husband or the wife or the children . These are all a great blessing you have in your life . Take your life seriously . If you decide to have a family you have to commit yourself to it and build your family castle properly with strong love and sacrifice :ie put each other before yourself Amen 🙏Ephesians 5:25: “ For husbands , this means love your wives , just as Christ lived the church . He gave up His life for her “
Genesis 2:24 : Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife , and they shall become one flesh . The Virtuous Wife , Who can find a virtuous wife ? For her worth is far above rubies . The heart of her husband safely trusts her ; So he will no lack of gain . She does him god and not evil .All the days of her life . God bless every family Anen ✝️Proverb 31 . New King James Version .
Point of Perspective! Yes! Thank you!
This really hits home for me, touching on a recent convo I had with my adult son. He is a senior in college, and recently discovered that his mother wasn’t always a mother. When he questioned “why” I chose to walk away from a high paying, and prestigious career, I confess I was more than a little thrown. While his questioning didn’t change my answer, I wholly wasn’t prepared for the “judgment” that seemed to come along-side his questioning. It was as if he believed, on some level, I had wasted my life.
While I explained God had blessed me with a husband and two children, and an early career the the funds to open a door for me to transition to a stay-home status, it took a couple days before I could shake off the odd feelings.
Interruptions at work – you know that hammering “knock, knock, knock “ when you’re deep into concentration and finally making headway on a project that has a hard deadline.
Drove me nuts until I finally heard the Whisper, “they are why you are here. Help them.”
I still believe in effective time management, but a change of perspective relieved a lot of stress. Thank you, Lord Jesus!
Really appreciate the reminder- when pressed with others needs, how sad if it was one person alone, with only my personal needs.
This reminds me of reading the advice column from Ann Landers many years ago. Wives were complaining about their husbands snoring and they just couldn’t stand it! One dear lady wrote “I would give anything in the world to have my husband snore next to me in bed again “. “He passed away several years ago.”
Bethany hit the nail on the head. We expend huge amounts of time and energy to attract and marry our spouses…then we sometimes fall into the complaining trap. The book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” comes to mind. Also the part of Gary’s book that tells the story of the ice cube trays. The Bible tells us to build each other up, not tear each other down. Should be especially true for spouses and kids. Instead of taking time to criticize small things…use that same time to compliment and appreciate. Thanks for the message Gary