Filled With Emotions

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/hfjVC05G-eA?si=N36OXJOyhcX__L0X

“Filled With Emotions”

 

The past years, several months and days have been filled with my oldest daughter preparing for graduation and now venturing off to college.  Since Spring, it’s been a whirlwind of preparing for graduation, her grad party and now getting everything ready to send her off to college. 

 

As I write this, tears are filling my eyes.  I’m just filled with emotions.  I’m thinking of the memories I’ve had with my daughter and watching her grow into the beautiful young woman she has become.  The past few years have been quite challenging in many ways as she navigated some difficult times, but learned and persevered through them.  I am so proud of the woman she is now and who God is going to lead her to be in the coming years.

 

As you can imagine, emotions have been all over the place for my wife and I as we navigate this new season of life.  I don’t really know how all to explain the emotions I’m seeing in our home and the emotions I’m personally feeling.  I’m excited for her, but also sad that I’m letting her go into the world by herself. 

 

I’ve been telling my wife that I’ve struggled with the feelings of “Did I teach her enough?  Did I instill enough Godly values in her?  Did I spend enough time showing her I love her?  Did I take enough time doing things with her?”  The questions just keep filling my mind as emotions run through me.  This is a new season of life and I’m not quite sure how to handle the emotions and……I want to be strong for my wife and, my oldest and my youngest.  But, it’s okay to show emotions.

 

Friday, we take her to college and we come home without her for a while.  It’s going to be hard and it will be a transition for us.  What I know most of all is that God’s in complete control and He will guide her and we just have to trust His timing and protection throughout her life.  As she experiences college, as she finds a Godly man when the timing is right and enters marriage and as she one day has a family of her own.

 

Lord, please protect my daughter as she ventures out on her own.  I pray she will take all that we’ve taught her and develop her own faith and become stronger.  Thank you for these 18 years of watching her grow and blossom.  I’m excited to see what You have in store for her life and where You will lead her.  Please help my wife and I adjust to this transition as well as my daughter as she ventures on her own.  We give her to You and trust Your leading in her life.  Amen.

Be Kind To Yourself

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/YOQlDq9fI6Y?si=9aiqaWSuenvVs5FR

“Be Kind To Yourself”

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

 

I have a confession to make right off the bat here.  For most of my life, I have had a really bad habit of coming down on myself when I make a mistake or forget to do something.  This is something I have been working on for a while, but I still treat myself pretty bad when I mess anything up.  The enemy feeds me lies every time I mess up or forget to do something.  The enemy tells me I’m worthless, that everyone else would get it right and that I’m just not smart enough.

 

I’ve dealt with a very low self-esteem for so long, but God is helping me work on this.  And, so is my wife and kids.  Daily they hear me say something bad about myself and I get in trouble when I do that.  If I say, “I’m dumb”, “I’m stupid”, “I can’t get things right”, I get in big trouble with them and they tell me to be nice to myself.

 

When I read this passage this week, it reminded me that no matter how sometimes I feel about myself, it’s usually very wrong because the enemy wants me to feel worthless, useless and not valued at all. 

 

Friends, think about the first phrase of this passage, “For we are God’s masterpiece”.  You and I are God’s MASTERPIECE!!!!  How does that make you feel?  When I read that, I am reminded how valued and loved I am by God.  The enemy is so good at feeding me constant lies about myself.  The heartbreak to this behavior of mine is that often I will hear my kids say the same things about themselves.  Of course, I tell them to stop saying that, but that’s exactly how I act and what I say when I mess up.

 

Be kind to yourself!  We are a masterpiece created by the Maker of all things.  There is nothing useless or worthless about that!  If you are reading this and you are finding yourself struggling just like I do daily with self-esteem, remember this passage.  You are created anew in Christ Jesus!  You are loved and valued by the Maker Himself.  He created you and values you more than you’ll ever know.

 

When you find moments where you come down on yourself and say bad things about yourself, take a deep breath and remember this passage and the fact that God values you.  And remember to be kind.  We’re always told to be kind to others, but we also need to be kind to ourselves.