I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. It seems as if in the month of March I fell into a bit of a funk and didn’t do anything to get out of it. I let my circumstances determine my joy, my attitude stunk to high heaven, and I didn’t do a very good job of going “All In”.
With Summer being just around the corner we were talking about different things that we wanted to do this Summer and it got me a little excited. One of the things that I noticed last night is, that although I’ve done well staying off of the Vlogs, I have substituted that addiction with reading several useless articles and social media stalking those who are famous for no good reason.
I realized that I don’t want to spend my entire Summer investing in virtual “relationships” that won’t do me any good. This Summer I want to be doing. I want to try new things and invest in the relationships that God has blessed me with now instead of bemoaning what it is that I don’t have. When I’m old and in a nursing home I want to have stories to tell of all the little everyday things that I did that have become treasured memories. I don’t want to tell all the other residents about how So-and-So was doing this and that or how that scandal broke and So-and-So said such-and-such about it.
Looking back I saw that over the months of December to about February I was paying close attention to what God was doing in my life and the blessings that He had given me. And you know what? I was SO much happier. I’ve noticed that sin is portrayed as something that will make us happier and more fulfilled but in reality it leaves us feeling dirty and emptier than before.
We recently had a Family Focus weekend at our Church and one of the topics covered was technology. The speaker covered several of the negative aspects of different types of technology but reminded us that it’s not something we can avoid in today’s society. In fact, technology can be used for so much good if we use it wisely. But there was one string of thought that stuck with me and has been something I’ve really been mulling over the past few weeks.
How is ________________ affecting my marriage?
Now, I know that I’m not yet married but I like this train of thought for several different reasons.
For starters, I’ve realized that bad habits die hard and good habits die easily. Don’t believe me? Think about it. If you forget to spend time praying and studying the Bible for a day; it’s really easy to space it off the next day and the next and before you know it it’s been two weeks.
But if you’re trying to stop a bad habit it seems to take forever. You do really good for a day or two and then you may slip up or it may be that you’ve done well conquering this habit for a long time and then all of a sudden and out of no where your being tempted to mess up.
However this one train of thought seemed to stick with me the most. We as a church are often referred to as the Bride of Christ (See Ephesians 5:22-23). The entire book of Hosea is a representation of God’s love for His people. God calls Himself our Husband (Isaiah 54:5).
As a child of God and a member of His church I am in a relationship with God. Therefore the same things that could ruin my future earthly marriage have the same power to ruin my relationship with God.
If I’d be willing to make some drastic changes to improve my earthly marriage why wouldn’t I be willing to make those same changes to improve my relationship with God?
In all reality my relationship with God is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than my earthly marriage, You see, when Christ comes back there won’t be any marriages (Luke 20:24-36). This is one of those things that I really don’t understand but I’m wondering if that may just be to show us how important our relationship with Christ really is. It’s the ONE RELATIONSHIP THAT OUTLASTS ALL OTHERS. Romans 8:38-39 tells us that NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE–NOT EVEN DEATH. Death for the Christian is just going home where we belong–going from this earth into His Presence.
I guess I say all of this to encourage you to take a look at your life. What are you spending your time doing? Are these things that you’re doing harming your marriage or relationship with God? If so, what can you do to change that? If you’re like me and desire marriage one day I’d like to encourage you to make the most of your time as a single person.
One of the things that I ‘m learning is that this time as a single I can either waste or invest. I can waste it being unhappy and wishing for what I don’t have so much that I forget the life that God has given me or I can invest it. Spending time with God and His people regularly. Embracing the freedom that I have now to follow the dreams that God has given me and learn all I can. I can use this time to find new hobbies and strengthen the relationships that I have now.
Facebook and social media can be great things. They allow us to stay in contact with family and friends that live states or even countries away. But we can’t forget about the people that are right in front of our noses now.
I’m learning that I can make changes now to make my marriage better should God desire to give me that one day. And if He doesn’t than I’ll have just strengthened my relationship with God along the way. And I really don’t see a problem with that…
Until next time,
Bailey Sue
Great application! Thanks!
(: