Life is full of ups and downs, isn’t it?
After writing the post last weekend about being “in my head” too much, I consciously practiced being present, accepting my thoughts and feelings, and generally surrendering to God’s perfect will.
As it happens, Monday was an awesome day! We got a wonderfully fun surprise gift on Monday morning (more about that later, as it’s still a surprise for the kids! Shh…) and I was very productive at work, which always makes me feel energized. How quickly our feelings can change if we just accept them. They do move on, much like storm clouds that break up to reveal a beautiful day.
Trusting in the Lord to provide strength for each day is such an incredible gift. I cherish that our family lives with Christ as our King. Unfortunately, we’re starting to encounter more conflicts with living in a society that doesn’t honor the world’s rightful King. Right now, we’re debating whether to keep Sienna in Girl Scouts after learning that they have a policy to “accept all girls regardless of their biological gender.” Yes, that’s right. transgender boys who are living as girls can now join the Girl Scouts. As a family that believes God has authority over who is born a girl or a boy (and he doesn’t make mistakes), we simply can’t reconcile this policy with how we want the mind of our daughter to be shaped.
In the secular world, anything that a person claims to feel or think must be validated as good, right, and their personal truth. Christians are accused of being judgmental (or worse) for not validating the feelings, thoughts, and actions of everyone. As my pastor noted this week, what happened to discernment? Forcing everyone to conclude that the only loving thing is total acceptance of whatever one claims they need for personal happiness is very foolish.
As Christians we can absolutely believe that God loves everyone and we, in turn, love all of God’s people, and at the same time discern that certain actions are not good or holy. It’s not being judgmental (we’re all sinners, after all), but rather reflects the respect we have for God’s Law.
So, ups and downs abound. It’s been a full week, yet I’ve had a real peace that God is guiding our family to discern his will for us.
Well written Kelsey!