Special Guest Post

Hey Friend,

This week, while I head to the beautiful mountains of NC, I have asked my very special friend and blogger Beth to guest post at my site.  Beth's tag line to her blog, Simply Beth, is "Let all that you do be done in love."  To me, Beth has a heart that exemplifies God's great love.  She's the "real deal"!  I hope you will welcome her and then take some time to visit her blog site: http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com/. 

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I've seen it written many times that one of the keys to a great blog post is a vulnerable story.  "Dare to be open and truly vulnerable about your life," says writer Mary Demuth.  It certainly isn't easy being vulnerable.  For many of us, being vulnerable is the complete opposite of how we were raised.  Stuff your emotions and move on was more of the norm.

I was reminded of words shared by Joyce Meyer in her Amplified Bible from First Corinthians.  She wrote how we are like jars of clay.  "Imagine a clay pot with a lamp in it and a lid on it.  Even though it may be filled with light, no one can see the light within it.  Yet if the pot is cracked, the light will shine through the cracks.  In this same way, God works through our imperfections."

Read just a few stories of the Bible and you will notice how God used imperfect people over and over again.  If we were perfect we wouldn't need God.  Isn't it refreshing to know God isn't asking us to be perfect?

"God works through our imperfections."

For many years I was sure I had failed my children.  Their younger years were spent watching their parents go through many battles.  Many times I wished we could go back in time and do it over again.  Countless hours were spent worrying about how the choices and mistakes we made as parents would impact the lives of our two boys.  How would those choices and mistakes impact them as they became husbands and eventually fathers?

Could it be possible that during those years of pain and sorrow, and the many mistakes, there was something greater taking place in us?  Could it be God was using our brokenness to draw us closer to Him?

My husband recently shared with our small group about a time when he asked our oldest son for forgiveness.  The two of them had a very difficult relationship for many years.  He shared his story with such vulnerability.  It's his story to share, but imagine a father approaching his son on the day of his wedding and asking for forgiveness.  I imagine a light was shining through the cracks of the doorway as the two of them embraced.

On the day of my son's wedding, I didn't see a young man shattered from the brokenness of his parents.  I saw the greatness of our God.

"God works through our imperfections."

The imperfections of my marriage can seem too great at times.  We made many mistakes and the reasons to ask for forgiveness are long.  For much of our marriage we relied on our own strength, a strength we simply didn't have.  How do we ever apologize for all the pain our children endured as a result of our imperfections?

I can't help but to think of my husband again and the story he shared.  Kristen Strong (http://chasingblueskies.net/when-an-apology-makes-you-drop-your-jaw-and-your-cake/) says it better than I ever could, "A genuine apology is a gateway to shocking, glorious redemption and a fresh start."  My husband had not told me about his apology to our son.  I was hearing his story for the first time as he shared with our small group.  I did witness what took place following his apology: a "glorious redemption and a fresh start" for a father and son.

The pain we endured - those imperfections - God used them.  He used them to paint a glorious story of forgiveness through a father and son.  He uses them over and over as we dare to be vulnerable in exposing those cracks in our marriage.  Each crack is another story to tell on how God redeems.  Each one leads to sharing the greatness of our God.

"God works through our imperfections."

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

With love,

Beth
http://withlove-simplybeth.blogspot.com
Let all you do be done in Love.