There is a sign in my office that reads, “When was the last time you did something for the very first time?” Doing what we know how to do is much easier than learning how to do something new. And the older we get, the more we enjoy sticking to what we know.
Yet, it is exciting to face new challenges, to learn new things. Sure, at first we can feel totally lost and a bit confused, but if we keep working at it, we soon learn the ins and outs of our new venture.
So it is with this blog. I had become comfortable with the old site. I knew how to navigate it and how to add graphics to each post. It was easy once I learned the basics. And now I am once again learning new basics. Each aspect of this new venture requires searching and finding answers. It is a challenge, but then I love a challenge!
Marriage is like that as well. Over the years we begin to rest in what we are good at. We learn the “dance” of what to do and what to avoid. Sometimes that works as the years go by. Sometimes, though, the dance is interrupted when one spouse decides to leave the marriage or refuses to grow anymore within it. Then we have the opportunity to learn something new.
I have always said that I hated what happened to our marriage years ago, but I have never regretted what I learned as I walked with the Lord through my stand. Yes, it was hard, very hard, at first. I had to learn to trust the Lord as I had never trusted Him before. I had to be honest about my own heart and my own life before Him. I had to learn to forgive things I had never dreamed I would need to forgive and I had to learn to repent for things I never thought were a problem. The learning curve was tough!
Somewhere in there, though, Jesus taught me how to get my eyes off my own pain and hurt and onto Him alone. I learned to cling to Him during the hardest times and to rejoice with Him with each new victory. And initially those victories were not in my husband’s life or in our relationship, but in my own heart as I grew to know Him like never before and walk with Him in peace and joy.
If we are willing, the Holy Spirit never stops teaching us. Our circumstances change, but He is always faithfully leading us in truth. If we allow Him, each experience becomes a step deeper into the wealth of Christ living in us. Everything we encounter gives us opportunity to be Spirit-led in our reaction. It never ends if we surrender our lives to Him.
We need to throw away our clocks and our calendars. Walking with Jesus is a marathon, not a sprint. It isn’t about doing what we need to do to get what we want. It is about an eternal relationship with Him and it’s worth whatever the learning curve requires! Love, Marilyn
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26