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Join me today with a cup of tea and be inspired. Today my podcast is about:
Faithfulness: Fruit of the Spirit; Full of faith, and loyal, constant, steadfast
“Trust in the Lord and do good, Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” -Psalm 37: 3
Sitting in the shade of our front porch, gently rocking as we shared a sweet moment, out of the blue, one of my adult children commented, “Thanks for being faithful through all these years. It has been a gift to us in more ways than you will ever know. Not only your example, but you spared us from scars that so many of our peers have born in their lives. I know it took many choices to keep going, to be faithful to your ideals. Just wanted you to know it mattered.”
I was surprised but deeply grateful. Faithfulness matters. It is the hard work of the soul. It is rare in our time. As I look back over my life, I realize that much of my blessing right now was due to the fact that somewhere along the way, I learned the value of keeping going, putting one foot in front of the other, remaining faithful through all of the dark passages.
Faithful in marriage, even when it was hard.
Faithful to my ideals as a mama, even when I didn’t feel like I was making progress.
Faithful to my God even when it felt like He was hiding.
Faithful to my children when they failed or showed their frailty and humanity.
Faithful to keep going forward, one step at a time, even when I felt I was failing.
The world gives us permission to quit, to give up, to drop our ideals. God encourages us to be faithful, to commit to being steadfast, to stay loyal.
Many eras I didn't think I would live through — crying babies with colic; ear infections, nocturnal asthma; fits, fusses, tantrums, a mysterious child with ADHD, OCD and ODD; marriage struggles between me, a totally romantic, relational woman married to a totally rational, organized man who had to work way too many hours to keep this family afloat; messes, rejections from family for our ideals; 24 moves; loneliness, little help or support systems; financial crisis; illnesses, hospitalizations, testings never ending; church splits; irrational people.
More on my podcast.