Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a beautiful day! We had lots of rain yesterday and storms but fortunately didn’t have a tornado. Today I am going to do food prep and bake a rhubarb cake and go to exercise class and Bible Study.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Love is so beautiful as we recently witnessed when we went to the wedding of our granddaughter, Paige and her beloved Devin! Their love for each other is so evident and there probably isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other. Their honeymoon only made life together sweeter and more precious. But as lovely as it all is, down the line there will also be pain as it is in every relationship. We don’t like to hear that or think that but it is true. At first pain may be caused by just being apart to go to our separate jobs. (So true for Al and I when first married).

 But even though newlyweds have many lovely dreams, there is pain as Catherine Doherty explains in her book. Maybe the wife gets pregnant soon after and has morning sickness; followed by the incredible pain of childbirth. Finally, when the baby is born and crying much of the night, there is the pain of loss of sleep and even having any kind time for self. But as the child grows there is also pain of worry about what could happen when he is a teenager etc. It never seems to quit. But that is how love is for with it is pain and God’s way of teaching us to depend on Him. We grow as we learn firsthand what it means to put others before ourselves, and He uses all that happens to us to draw us closer to Himself.

The secret is the cross…am I willing to daily die to myself and put the Lord first and others second before myself. At times that is not pleasant, for we don’t know if the Lord is going to answer our prayers the way we strongly desire, or does He have a completely different plan. But the beauty of it all is that He sees the panoramic picture of our life and He knows what things are good for us now and what things we need to die to so He can bring us to new places. Let us love much and let us willingly go through pain to enter into God’s best for us. Even though we may hurt for a little while let us remember I Peter 5:10-11, “So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans of us in Christ-eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on our feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.”

Challenge for today:  Thank the Lord He gives you grace to go through the painful times to bring you out into the splendor and glory of His presence and will.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy