Jewells of Thought

Living my life in the church and knowing Bible Stories and their various lessons has been my mainstay. It has been the pinnacle of my education nothing else about the world makes sense without the Bible as the focal point to examine human existence and our worldly inconsistencies that are historically consistent over time.

History has its patterns. Sunday on WYTJ Radio Station at 4 pm on our way home from seeing Grandma scripture was brought to life by some actors. This particular segment was from Genesis chapter 16 and 17. Abram and Sarai made decisions without God’s will they were impatient. Sarai even laughed at being a mother in her elder days. Yet God promised them it would happen and changed their names to Sarah and Abraham as he made the covenant with them to begin a nation from their unborn child.

How many times do we in all our finite wisdom look skeptically at God’s calling in our lives? There are various ways I could show this in areas of my life but right now one specific thought is with Bryan, my long-time adored and long-distance boyfriend. When do you get so consumed by the lack of movement in one direction that you give up on it altogether? This question has haunted me for over 3 long years.

Although haunt is a rather strong word. Knowing various stories throughout the Bible I know that making decisions without acknowledging God’s will can lead to devastating circumstances like for example Hagar and Ishmael. However, God did give us free will He knows what actions we will indeed make whether we know or not at first. I concentrated on my Education instead of giving way to young love that I really never encountered. Being the one who didn’t get married or have kids personally has given me a benefit that those my age did not get.

Life and my religious beliefs go hand in hand. Valuing life and time with those God has purposely put into my life has shown me life lessons needed to get me to this point in my life. Bryan and I have talked about this a lot we wouldn’t have been the people we have become when we were younger if we had met sooner. We know what we want and need in a relationship. The lasting marriages and the divorces we have seen have taught us valuable lessons about communication.

Honestly, I still didn’t believe in 2021 that we could make it this far. I was taught to not be taken in by a charming smile and have a lens of skeptibility, but ultimately my relationship and communication with God and knowing His authority was crucial.

Lately time to communicate well has not been easy for us. Whether it’s because of the fires in Los Angeles and the internet providers are in that area or it’s just the bad grid. Last night as I was about to head to bed literally within a minute he surprised me before I pushed the send button. Those few minutes we reaffirmed our need as a couple to have our goodnight time and even a date night time to talk once a week to have that special time to talk about us. It was a time that reminded me how much Bryan is my Godsend and my other half.

Still there are comments from my family that say I should give up after all these years of waiting. If I believe, like I do, that Bryan is mine sent from God himself wouldn’t I be as horrible giving up before we are allowed to be together. Sarai laughed at the thought of having a child as an older woman, wouldn’t I be doing the same thing not trusting in my God’s omniscience, His authority over my life as well as Bryan’s?

Bryan has been steadfast on the idea of us. I have been skeptical and sometimes confused about this relationship. However, more and more our naysayers are shot down when God makes it apparent not to listen to those comments. Gaining perspective from God’s view truly helps to deter from wayward worldly thoughts. Even as we seek to protect ourselves from pain. You cannot save yourself from pain by specifically not loving. Love is the golden rule from Christ Himself, ‘to love one another as I have loved you.’

This is what I love about stories from the Bible each time you read them God reveals something new in the story to you. Right now I am reading a new book from one of my favorite authors Mesu Andrews. This series is about King David’s wives, yes that is plural we all know the greatest of the Kings of Israel was David, but he did have some fleshly thorns that were used against him many times. This wife in particular is a lesser known one, Ahinoam, but her sons are well known from Biblical stories I learned in Sunday School.

Isn’t it amazing how things stick in our minds that early in life someone understood how important Bible Stories and Sunday School would be for kids as adults… talk about perspective.

I love this photo I took from the Ark Encounter a few years ago that story is still so relevant to do this day!