WE GO: Wife, Mother, Other
WE GO: Wife, Mother, Other
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8
We are each His beautiful vessel, called to pour out the light and love of Christ; therefore, WE GO...
When I finally understood the love of God, I literally wanted to change the WORLD with His good news. I remember shouting this bold proclamation in the quietness of the morning over two decades ago. God's response to me was: "Start with your world...in your home." Let me just tell you, the Lord's gentle answer to my kingdom-shaking declaration was somewhat anticlimactic, if you want to know the truth. However, He has kept this motto before me for the last 25 years: wife, mother, other.
WIFE. I got married at 22 and was clueless. I was immature and insecure but God was gracious. He showed me in His word how to respect my husband. These are simple things the Lord impressed on me to give Mac each day:
1. Be kind 2. Be encouraging 3. Be prayerful.
If I choose (which some days are harder than others!), it takes 1 second to kindly smile at Mac and 2 seconds to encouragingly say words such as "You are my hero". This is 3 seconds of daily respect that can help keep our marriage strong. Concerning prayer, I have discovered my words to God about Mac do things I NEVER could possibly do on my own.
MOTHER. I had Maggie when I was 23; she was the first baby I ever remember holding. Again, I had no understanding of this role, but as I raised her and her 3 siblings that quickly followed suit, God taught me in my "novice-ness." In time, I learned these things:
1. Do not put my kids before my husband.
2. Talk to my kids a whole lot about God.
3. Talk to God a whole lot about my kids.
Did I waver? Yes. Did I get tired? Yes. Did I get back up? Yes. Was God forgiving? Yes. Was God faithful? Yes. They are now all in their 20's, and one is married. God is now writing each of their life stories, as He so graciously did for me.
OTHER. When the Lord grabbed my heart, I started writing. Everything I learned about God, about being a wife, about mothering, etc, I wrote down simply because it was an outlet of learning. Eventually a friend said to me, "Chris, you should write all that in a blog." Being somewhat challenged with computer technology (understatement), and somewhat shy, I declined... UNTIL another friend said that the word BLOG could be an acronym for: Baxter's Love Of God. Aha, a way to change the WORLD with His love! So, in 2010 I started www.respitefortheweary.com. I (shyly but kingdom-shakingly) invite you to take a look.
God continues to tell me to GO and encourage others in their appointed roles: wife, mother, other.
Further: Proverbs 31:10-12; Deut. 11:18-20; Col. 1:9-13; Isaiah 50:4; Isaiah 40:9
Dear Lord,
You are Mine and I am Yours! Thank You for pouring Your love into me ... You just keep on pouring! Now, help me, and all my Soul Sisters to go and pour out this love in our divinely-appointed worlds. Use us uniquely, use us powerfully. In Your Name. Amen
