Even Bad Days Can Be Good

There are good days; there are bad days. It is the "best of times." Or, it could be the "worst of times." I believe, however, those in Christ have the upper-hand on the bad days. We know things that the world does not know, and we understand things that the world does not understand. We have Christ Jesus our LORD.

 

Today God has granted me a reprieve in the middle of the battle.

 

Today, at least for the moment, I can rest. God has been so gracious with the hours of my today. The kids and I slowly woke up and got ready for the day. I took Cooper to school and came back to clean the kitchen. (It has been a disaster area since the end of last week. I am so thankful to have gotten that off my to-do list. It just makes me feel better.) As we were having lunch, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I reluctantly answered the call, but to my pleasure it was a friend from a little while back that I have not gotten to talk to in quite some time. I was able to share my story about being the wife of an alcoholic.

 

This phone call was my gift from God today. He gives me opportunities to share what He has done for me with others. That is a tremendous gift. #1) It gives me a chance to offer a little of the peace that I have received from God. And #2) It reminds me of the journey that Keith and I have been on the last few years and the incredible grace that I have been given.

 

Everybody knows that our marriage together has not been the "happily ever after" we had hoped. We still struggle, each and every single day. Sometimes you can't even tell we love each other because we drive each other insane. We have had more than our share of struggles, financially, spiritually and physically. But today, through my gift, I have been reminded of how thankful I am for the path we have been on together. That's the kind of stuff that makes bad days good.

 

Keith and I both "know that all things work together for those who love God." (Romans 8:28) And we do love God. As I replayed our life to my friend, I can see God's gentle, and sometimes very strong, hand on our lives. I see that through that journey as hard as it was, I still have my family together, and now I even have two more precious lives in our "Peden Pack" that I had would not have gotten had I chose to walk away as the world told me a few years ago. That's what makes bad days good.

 

This is not even a bad day, per se. (Well, Keith would say for me to speak for myself. He is undergoing tremendous physical pain while they are trying to diagnose him.) We have had far worse. And our day is not nearly as bad as some people are having today. But even if today was our worst day, we still have an advantage. We can call on the "peace of God, that surpasses all understanding." (Philippians 4:6) It truly is inexplicable the peace that God grants you when you trust Him. In the midst of the fiercest battles God can reach down and touch you. You can see in slow motion the things that are happening around you: enemies coming from all directions, darts and arrows flying, open wounds. Yet you seem to be calm and collected...and not worried about the outcome of the battle because you know how it ends. God wins. You win. If it ends in death, you know your reward. If it ends with life bent out of shape and out of your plan, then you can share the comfort God gave you in the battle. You get to share the story. It is for your good and His glory. That's what makes bad days good.

 

"For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or my death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  Philippians 2:19-21

 

I aim for this attitude. That my suffering is nothing compared to what I gain in Christ. That attitude is what makes bad days good.

 

I praise God for my struggles for they have worked together for my good. I praise God for the good days and the bad days. Because even if I have a "bad" day, at least I had a day.

 

Every Little Girl's Dream

Tonight, I attended the wedding of one of the sweetest couples I have ever known. Oh, the weather outside was frightful. Yes, indeed. It has been a dreary, gray day. When the rain came this afternoon, it came with claps of thunder and lightning. Counties to east of us even had tornadoes. This weather was the kind that makes you wonder, "do I go or not go?" I almost didn't, but I am so glad I did.

 

Weddings have a way of either taking you back to your wedding day, or they make you dream of your future wedding. Which day dream you have depends on what season of life you are in at the time. I did think of my wedding tonight, and how long ago it was. I thought of all the life Keith and I have lived from that rainy day June 1996 until now. Births and deaths, moves and houses, love and hate. So much life!

 

But as I watched the couple tonight, I also watched my daughters out of the corners of my eyes. One in junior high and the other in college. My oldest is closer to her wedding day (by age and stage) that I care to imagine. I wondered what was going through their minds as the bride came down the aisle in her glowing white gown. I wondered if they were wanting to have simply beautiful decorations like tonight or were they thinking destination weddings. I wondered if they could see the qualities in the couple that I see.

 

We have had many conversations over the years about what each of them wants for their weddings. Some of their plans change with the wind; others have remained the same. There have been lots of talks about their dresses largely in part because we love to watch "Say Yes to the Dress."

 

My daughters and I have also had conversations about what to look for in their future husbands. They seem to more know of what they don't want instead of what they do want. More and more the older they get they are speaking boldly that God must be first in their dream guy. My prayer is that they settle for nothing less. I pray for Cooper to find a precious girl that seeks to serve and honor God with her life, too. I am thankful in advance  that Aubri will get to see her older sisters choose a man who's utmost desire is to be a godly husband and father.

 

As a paralegal, I saw many, many couples come in to our office and say they are ready to call it quits. Most of the time there was someone else already in the picture or the couple had decided that life would be better without the other person. God's law and intent was not honored; it was just thrown aside like a wet bath towel until someone was ready to pick it up again. I wondered if God was even really in the picture in the beginning. I suppose not.

 

Every little girl's dream is that of happily ever after. It is molded and planned in detail from the time they first hear of Disney princesses or Barbie's dream house. Every little girl's dream can be shattered into a million pieces in a matter of seconds, if she is taught by the world what to want and what to be. As parents, as mothers and fathers and mentors, we are to lay the foundation of that dream and build castle blocks upon castle blocks of God and His ways.

 

I praise God for parents who raised the Prince Charming and Cinderella that I watched take their vows to each other tonight. I praise God for the people in their lives that pointed them to the alter before God and who taught them that God must be the center of their marriage.

 

I praise God tonight for His direction in the raising of my own children. I praise Him for His Word and His laws. I thank Him for being there for my prince and princesses despite my human error. And I praise Him for the ones He has hand-picked for each of the "parts" of my heart.

 

I'm looking forward to the future and thankful for the past.