Hey Mermaid, I also have some really strange dreams. The chocolate one sounds good...I LOVE chocolate. I am trying to have a good attitude about Christmas, but to be honest it is really hard. We have come so far and it is just so trying. I know, patience, patience, it is almost over. I just wonder sometimes how much a person can take until they finally nut up.
Enjoy your Christmas.... ((((((((hugs)))))))))
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
"Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5
One of my local television stations recently aired the movie "Polar Express." I remember reading that book to my children many years ago. At the time, I thought it was a wonderful story of holding onto childhood dreams. Now I see it differently. It is the story of believing even when those around us do not.
At the beginning of the story, the boy is listening intently for the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh - a sound he has been told he will never hear. Just as the boy lay quietly in his bed, so are we still before our Savior, listening for the promise of hope found in His word - a promise many tell us we will never be able to hear.
The boy did not hear the sound of the bell. Instead he heard the clank and rattle of a steam engine. This wasn't what he expected at all. Sometimes we hear unexpected "sounds" that leave us wondering and doubting and maybe even fearful. But our heart tells us to trust and so we go to investigate. The conductor yells, "All aboard" and we climb on the Marriage Restoration Express because something and someone has softened and changed our hearts. We mount those steps with trepidation but also with hope, and Jesus comes in to sit beside us. Once we get on board, we find other standers who have taken that leap of faith - who have listened to what God was quietly whispering to their hearts - and have boarded the train to marriage restoration.
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22
In the book, the Polar Express travels through some very strange territory. Some of it is frightening, some of it is extraordinary, some of it is beautiful, and the boy takes it all in with wonder and awe. But it's all new territory and new landscape for the boy. When we climb aboard our train, it often takes us through scary and strange territory; new landscapes and new wonders and a new way of being. But it also takes us through some beautiful places - times and places in our lives when we are so filled with the love of Christ that we kneel in wonder and awe. Times and places where the things of this world cannot touch us.
As the journey continues through plains and hills and mountains, the boy finally spies lights in the distance. Jesus is this light for us - directing us, guiding us, calling us to our destination. When we get to the place He has sent us, He asks, "Do you believe?" The boy was chosen from among all the other children to receive the first gift of Christmas, because he believed. We, too, are chosen from among all God's children for a very special gift - to stand in the gap for those we love; to serve as that angel as mediator at their side.
The boy in the book asked for a bell from Santa's sleigh - a bell that symbolized for him all the hopes and dreams of his childhood. What he wanted more than anything was one silver bell from Santa's sleigh - a bell that would help him continue to believe even in the midst of impossible circumstances; even as he returned to his home and lived among those who did not believe. Santa smiled at the boy's request because he knew this was the heart of a believer.
God looks upon the hearts of standers and smiles. He knows that we have chosen to trust in Him for our marriage restoration and the salvation of those we love. His heart is gladdened by our prayers, softened by our pleas, and hurt by our tears.
"From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth- he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do." Psalm 33:13-15
Just as the boy received his one special gift from Santa, so we, too, receive a special gift from Jesus. As we reach for that thing that we most desire, He gives us a peace and a joy that no circumstance can explain. He fills our hearts with His love and His grace. He provides for us, sometimes supernaturally. He holds us in his comforting arms and hides us under the shadow of His wings.
"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 17:6-8
When the boy returned home, he found that he had lost his special bell and he thought that he would never find it again. But there it was the next morning, under the Christmas tree, just waiting to be opened. Sometimes we lose our own bell of belief and trust, but it is always there for us, waiting in His Word, waiting for us to open it once again, to believe once again.
The boy's parents could not hear the bell and thought that it was broken. But the boy believed and so he heard the sweet sound of the silver bell from Santa's sleigh. It is our belief and trust in Jesus that allows us to hear the sweet sound of His promises. The hope found in His Word and the grace He showers on us allow us to hear the bell, even if those around us don't.
For a good part of his childhood, the boy, his sister and many of his friends could hear the bell. But as they all grew older, one by one, it fell silent to them. Only the boy could still hear the bell. Only the boy still believed.
My prayer is that each of you can still hear the bell. Be still before God and listen intently for His loving refrain. We may live among those who cannot or will not hear it, but for us, it is still the sweetest sound - the whisper of God's promises.
"Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5:36
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
BND, that brought tears to my eyes! That was one of the most touching, beautiful thing I have read in a long time. Thank you. I now have an even strong sense of faith.
This is a litle something I wanted to post. It is written by a man who was in MLC, divorced his wife and then remarried her.
I am alive today because my wife learned to pray while she was standing 20 years ago. If she had not become a prayer warrior back then, she would not have known how to pray for the crises our family has faced in the past 20 years. Please respond to what God tells you, and not what you are seeing in your prodigal’s life.
A few minutes ago, I located my old day planner from Christmas week 1986, twenty years ago. If you were to see it, it would spell success. I had a new promising job, with an expense account and bonuses. On this very day, Monday December 22, I leased a new apartment. There are cryptic notes about a string of girlfriends. That entire week, I saw our kids for a few minutes on Christmas afternoon.
What is not recorded there is the heartache of waking up on Christmas morning and not hearing, "Daddy, come and look at what Santa brought." There is no record of a good-night kiss from my wife, with her, "Do you know how much I really love you?" My planner has a ton of plans recorded, but no happiness is ever mentioned. Even worse is the absence of notes on a spirtual goal of my holiness. I made notes on fun, not family. My goal was personal gain, not godliness. In short, the book is a mess.
Do you know what else is not recorded in my book? The hurts of my standing wife, enduring a scaled down Christmas, without her husband, all because I put my needs and wants first.
Your stand is about far more than your marriage. The total restoration of your family will be secondary to your spouse coming into a personal relationship with Jesus.
I pray that you will have a blessed Christmas, as our family will. It may not be perfect, but may you start today to acknowledge the hand of God moving in your circumstances. He is there, and He is moving, this week and every week.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
WOW. Very powerful. Thank you for sharing. Just what I needed to read today.
It really hit home for me and so many others here. I think our H's do remember things, the little things. Our last conversation, my H said the same thing.
BND....I hope you had a wonderful day. You have lifted me up with your wise words so many times this year, especially when things were very tough. I look forward to more of your wisdom.
