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| Stolen from a friend's Facebook |
As a Christ-follower, mother and wife, sometimes I do wonder,
"What's normal?"
"Is there really such a thing as a "normal" marriage or a "normal" child?"
"Am I normal?"
Nope.
Each marriage, each family, each child is unique! Instead of trying to cram our spouses, selves and children into a "normal" mold, a mold created by man and not by God by the way, we should step back and examine our situations. Season our actions and plans with grace. In the end, who cares what people think! Honestly, your life and your family have only to answer to Christ - not to society, not to someone who wrote a best seller or to the pastor at your church.
Can you, at the end of the day, face your Lord, child and husband with a clear conscience and love? Have you done your best that day with what that day brought your way? Does your child know you love them unconditionally? Are you willing to swallow your pride in order have a better marriage? Are you allowing God's grace to minister to your heart?
Or, are you so caught up with the "rules" you read in that book, heard on a radio program, saw on a Power Point at church or jotted down at a seminar? Maybe you're supposed to "only" have one child instead of one thousand. Maybe your husband is a better cook. Maybe you're not a good house keeper. Maybe your child is going to have a tantrum here and there. There is no formula to a successful marriage. There is no formula to raising a God-loving, well adjusted child. There is no formula to being a content, happy individual.
But there is God's grace. There is joy in your child's laughter. There is love in your husband's kiss. Get off the "normal" merry-go-round of life. Appreciate today. Be thankful for the good moments. You're a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. There is no normal!
Actively seek what God wants for YOU, the square peg! What story does He want to write with your life and family? Look for the square window that He has customized for YOU - between you and God, between you and your husband, between you and your child.
It's time to accept the fact that we're all different and we're all children of a loving, grace giving God. Yes, there are absolute "right" and "wrongs" in Scripture that we all should live by. We are all humans and all have the same Creator, that's what makes us "the same." But there is no "normal" outside of that.
So, from now on, "normal" is just a setting on a dryer. *smiles*
Become the lady, wife and mother God wants YOU to be. And only that. It's freeing. It's fulfilling. It's right.
