I’ve been the happiest person ever since my daughter started working at Nike in New York. I have no doubt that God Himself arranged this!!! It has been a huge and excruciating sacrifice we made for our daughters (splitting our family in half y’all!) to attend university there, and even this is a huge God lesson for us all!!! He spoke to me today through my fav meditation book, Jesus Calling:
“IT IS NATURAL that you want to minimize pain. However, in My Word I continually call you to transcendent living, to go beyond what is natural to what is supernatural. Though my ways may entail sacrifice and pain, I accomplish through them not just what is good for you—but what is best.”
That’s why I can’t get over my brother, Kevin. In one of my painful moments, I called him one day, and he incredibly said, “Neeks, you’re like a boxer right now. You will take 10,000 punches, but eventually, you will become numb. Keep fighting!” God Himself spoke to me through my brother to keep going and not give up! Who tells someone to stay in the ring and take 10,000 punches? This was not only what was good for me, it was indeed best for me! God was teaching me these crucial values in the process:
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To love others the way He loves us: unconditionally! To keep forgiving and keep forgiving and keep forgiving until we increase our capacity to forgive. And this forgiveness thing is for us! It brings us peace and joy! I try to wipe the slate clean for everyone every day, the way God does for us. Thanks, Ceri, my God influencer!
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To think less of self and more of others: “Don’t forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.”
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My family is a team, and I must make decisions that are best for the team! My personal happiness goes to the back seat!
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To wisely, calmly, kindly, skillfully, and lovingly handle problems!
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Don’t repay evil with evil; LOVE EVEN HARDER!
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When others go low, you go high because, at the end of the day, everything is between us and God. God more than makes up for any disappointments! (Wink! Wink!)
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To obey and trust God! No matter how difficult what He is asking – He will be our strength to do difficult things!
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Stay committed! Don't give up when things get hard. Sometimes we must go through difficult paths to get to the best ones. Loyalty all the way, baby! All for the glory of God!
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Do not judge! Loving others for both their strengths and weaknesses! NO ONE GETS IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME!
A special thanks to Kevin and Ceri! Thanks for putting up with me!