Your People, My People

"But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. 

Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay. 

Your people will be my people and your God my God..." 

Ruth 1: 16

There is a picture that hangs on our "gallery wall" as I call it. It is a wall filled with family pictures and signs with scripture and quotes and this one in particular quotes the famous words of Ruth from the Bible when she says to Naomi, "Where you go, I will go, where you stay I will stay." I had to have it when I saw it at the store because I quoted these same words to my husband about a year ago and they were a pivotal moment in our marriage.

You see we were about 8 months into settling into our new home in North Carolina and making friends after being relocated there, but we got word after the company buyout that we may be uprooted and asked to move again. At first I was livid! I was not having it and there was no way I was going to move my family across the country again and I didn't even want to think about it. I let my husband know that if another relocation was in the works he could go without me and I was going to go back to Dallas and be with my family. 

But on my way to church that Wednesday night, God pricked my heart and showed me that I had spoken words of separation over our family and He certainly did not want those words to take root and cause a rift between me and my husband. My dad called me that evening on the phone and after venting to him about us possibly moving again, he said words I didn't expect him to say, "It is much more important for you to be there for your husband, than for your family to be there for you." I stopped in my tracks and thought about how terrible I was being. This move would bring opportunity, growth and financial blessing to our family but I was blindsided by the inconvenience it would cause our family to make new friends, find a new church and have our children adjust to being in new schools. Now don't get me wrong those are all big things to consider, but I knew that the same kindness shown to us by our new friends in North Carolina would be shown to us in Kentucky if God was with us. 

So here I am 8 months into settling into our new home outside of Louisville, Kentucky and my kids having finished another year in another new school and we are yet again new in another church finding where we fit. 

I am so glad I clung to those words Ruth spoke to Naomi and I noticed something. It's not the going or the staying that is hard, it's actually what comes after that, "...your people will be my people..."

Making my fellow Kentuckians my friends is what's daunting, intimidating, uncomfortable and takes me out of my comfort zone. Both I and my children wish we had the same strong friendships we left behind in Texas, but it took years for us to make those friendships and forge the strong bond we left behind. It will take years for us to make those best friendships and people you can call at any time of day and say "Hey I am coming over!" here too. But in the process of making these people, my people, I see God's hand in it all. 

He brought us to a neighborhood overflowing with kids so there is no lack of finding someone for my kids to play with. He has brought together an incredible group of women who meet once a month at my house for book club  and prayer. He placed me in a job working at one of my boy's schools so I am able to keep their same schedule, make a little money and get out of the house! 

He is with us, Emmanuel! 

God was with us in Texas, North Carolina and now here in Kentucky. Day by day, week by week and month by month he is showing us that His hand has been in it all- comforting, providing, directing, and loving. 

So maybe you are in the same place I am in -making the people around you, your people. Or maybe your feet are frozen in place and He is asking you to go, perhaps He is asking you to stay. I want you to take comfort in the fact that the same all-knowing, omni present, ever-providing God that I serve is the same one that can come through for you and your situation. My God is your God. He can do the same miracles, restorations, and redemptions in your story as I see Him doing in mine. 

I know that nothing that comes mine or my family's way has not first passed through His hand and He is going to either bring me through it or deliver me from it. Either way, growth, strength and courage await me on the other side. 

Ruth had no idea what awaited her when she ventured out with Naomi. But when she met her Boaz, her kinsman redeemer, all that she had lost and more had been restored and her life became full. 

I sometimes think that the difficult, uncomfortable and stretching times are now necessary for us as believers to scrape off the rough edges and buff out the marred places in our lives. The joy that comes in the morning is always well worth the pain in the night. 

The Gift of Grace

The best gift we can all give ourselves this Christmas season is grace.

As a recently returned to work mom, after staying at home with my children for many years, I have given myself the grace knowing my house getting clean and laundry getting done is not happening till Sunday afternoon...and that's ok.

As much as I try hard to stick to my weekly menu planning to save money and eat healthier at home, I give myself grace as I find myself going through another drive thru or ordering from another menu because time in the evenings goes at super speed...and that's OK.

As hard as it was to stay silent in my blogging world for the last three months, I needed that time of silence to regroup and re-encourage myself through another big life transition... and that's OK.
 
As hard as it is to stay away from sweets and my favorite food group- chocolate, I allow myself the grace to give in to one indulgence a week...and that's OK.

As much as I would love to spoil my family members with indulgent Christmas presents  every year, I give myself grace as I go reaching for the gift-cards and sale racks making small purchases to allow my dollars to go further...and that's OK.

As this holiday season comes around with all of its hustle and bustle and the New Year's resolutions pressure returns its ugly heads, reminding of us of how far we fell off the wagon last year, we need to extend ourselves grace.

We aren't perfect, we will mess up, we will fail our family, friends and ourselves. But the important thing to remember here is that we get back up, try again or try harder next time. It's good to plan, it's good to budget, it's good to  set goals, but sometimes we are a little hard on ourselves. 

When we internally reprimand ourselves for screwing up or falling off the bandwagon, we bring thoughts of self condemnation upon ourselves that make us want to give up. That's not where our heads should be, we should extend grace to ourselves to not allow slack into our lives or a pattern of laziness to take hold but to remove the stress and pressure of perfectionism.

As we extend grace to ourselves, remember to extend grace to those around us too. 

Did a certain family member forget to send you a Christmas card? Extend grace. Did an in law make a snide comment at the Christmas dinner table about your parenting skills? Extend grace. Did your husband change the tv from your Christmas movie to the football game? Extend grace. Did someone take your parking spot at the mall? Extend grace. 

There are little ways to make this time of year a bit more peaceful and grace is the gift we can receive and gift to help make the holidays a bit more joyous this season. 

This year give the gift of grace.


 

Changing Seasons + Sweet Jesus Mnistries

This post was originally written for a website called Sweet Jesus Ministries that I am a monthly contributor for. I hope you are blessed and encouraged to read this during your own season of transition.

For everything there is a season…God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

Ecclesiates 3:1,11

 

It’ s spring! Finally glorious spring with its warmer days of sitting on the front porch reading a good book, and drinking a glass of sweet tea have come! The days of planning summer vacations, gardening, and getting outside more- soaking in those warm rays of sunshine- have me excited for this season too. 

Why? Because it has been a long, hard winter for me and my family. After moving to North Carolina last fall, we all went through a transitional period that was a lot more difficult than I thought. Homesickness settled in, financial difficulties, home renovations taking longer than expected and the kids being slow to make friends had us in fits at different times. But as we learned to lean on God through it all we also grew stronger as a family.  Read more here...