Playing referee to my arguing kids was one of the hardest things for me to manage as a mom! Ephesians 4:32 was probably my most quoted verse on a day to day basis. I wondered if my kids would ever actually like each other! It is fun for my husband and I to be on the other side now as empty nesters and see how much our kids enjoy being together. They hang out with each other and even vacation together—with & without us!
Peace and patience - qualities we want to have, yet they seem ever elusive. We want peace whenever life is hard and the storms rage on. We grit our teeth in the midst of frustration trying to muster an ounce of patience when someone irritates us or our circumstances are not what we would have chosen. Why is having peace and patience so difficult?
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,…” I don’t know about you, but hearing that I should be counting it joy when I have struggles seems like an oxymoron. How in the world can those two things go together? I think I am just beginning to understand what we are being asked to do here.
