Convict me Lord; in the Power of Love

I want to walk in love.  I want my spirit to decrease as the Lord’s Spirit within me increases.  Recently, I have been spending quiet time reflecting on my life, my faith, my love, and on my interaction with those whom I love.   

In church today, I came to God in worship and in praise.  As I prayed, worshiped, and was instructed in the Word; I asked God to cleanse me, purify me, and sanctify me.  God is my source.  His grace is sufficient.  God is in control.  I must practice “Letting go and letting God”.  It is Mother’s Day.  I am a wife, a mother, and a grandmother and I am so grateful for all of those titles.  Lord, I am yours; my family is yours.  As I prayed, I asked for wisdom and for God to use me as His vessel in the lives of others.  I asked Him to help me to know when to speak or to be silent.  I want the Holy Spirit to do His work through my life as I interact with those I love.  Our earthly lives are temporary and our children are on loan to us.  They belong to God first.  This is a lesson I learned many years ago.   Our first child, Elisa Lynn, was born on May 11, forty three years ago.  I went into labor on Mother’s Day.  Memories flood my mind.  She was given to us for nine years to love and to care for.  I treasure my children and my grandchildren.  I pray for and lift up a blessing for each one by name daily.  I know that God’s hand is upon them.  He knew them while yet in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5).  God has a plan for each of their lives and for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). 

When a family and children are young, God expects a mother to care for, guide, teach, and protect her children.  It is a role that has to change as children grow.  I am a protective mother but have tried not to be an over protective one.  I do believe in absolutes and accountability.  A parent’s role is to help mold a child into a meaningful adult of worth; a person able to care for himself and able to love and care for others.  I am so very proud of my adult daughters.  My mother taught me, by example, to be a mother.  My daughters have given me grandsons.  In the future my grandchildren will look back at the examples given to them by their parents as they pass on the values which they have learned to the next generation, to their children.  I marvel at the circle of life.  I do realize my significance in that circle but also realize that I shouldn't feel overly essential.  In young families, mothers try to keep things orderly and must have some kind of control.  Sometimes it is a hard thing to let that role diminish and realize that one has to let go of the once secure sense of control.  That is where “letting go and letting God” comes in.  I can let go because I do know that God is on the Throne and He is in control of my life and of theirs.  I pray a lot!

I must change as my needs and the circumstances of my life change.  I don’t have control over changing circumstances or have any control over how others react or act.  I can only take charge of my own actions and reactions; what I say, don’t say, do, or don’t do.  I ask the Lord to convict my heart so I choose to do what is right.  We all are, at times, ambushed by remarks that put us on the defensive.  Both Richie and I can be too sensitive to what we perceive to be the motive behind a remark, correction, or statement.  We also have the habit of finishing each others sentences.  My heart has been convicted.  I will work on being less emotionally sensitive and defensive.  I will be a better listener and let people finish their own sentences.  I do realize that after almost 49 years of marriage Richie and I know what each other are thinking and going to say.  I don’t want that to change but I ask the Lord to let me know how to choose when to speak, when to be silent, what to say, or what not to say.  

Lord, help me to be still, be calm, be present, be supportive, be accepting, be loving, and be forgiving.  The fruit seeds of God’s Holy Spirit are planted in us when we are born of the spirit; born again.  These seeds do not become fully ripe fruits immediately.  Seeds have to germinate and grow.  These seeds of the spirit mature as our faith matures.  Our faith matures as we study God’s Word.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. (Romans 10:17)  These fruits become mature when we start operating in the Gifts of the Spirit so that others can see these gifts in our lives.  I strive to live the way God wants me to live.  1Corinthians 13 tells us that now we know in part.  In our human bodies we cannot fully understand or be perfect as Christ was perfect.  Operating in the gifts of the spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22, is living in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  It is a process which happens on our faith journey as we are cleansed, filled, and sanctified.  We are to live in faith, hope, and love.  Verse 13 from 1Corinthians 13 tells us that the greatest of these is love.  God is love and we must live in His love and let that love overflow from us into the lives of others.  Jesus told us in Luke 10:27 and Matthew 22:36-40 that loving God and loving others is the greatest commandment.

God has a good and perfect plan for me.  I choose to listen and be corrected so that I may grow in my faith and in the gifts of the spirit.  The greatest of these is love.  I love the Lord and I love my family.  Lord, help me to operate in love.