We've left the house once in almost 7 days. Between snow and frozen weather, it was just best to stay inside. And I'm not going to lie, it was H-A-R-D. It was hard because my girls can handle it for about 2 days without wanting to crawl up the walls. It was hard because if I don't interact with other people for a few days, I feel tired and drained. It was hard because I was stressed out about Aaron out delivering mail in -40 degree weather. It was just plain hard. We played, we danced, we sang, we playdo'd, we painted, we made stuff, we played games. We made a snowman on the 1 day it wasn't too cold to even step foot outside. And I was cranky. And mean. And tired. And lazy. And ashamed. And regretful. Why can't I just be nice to my kids? Why can't I just keep my house clean? We're not doing anything to distract me from it. Why can't I just wake up? I feel like such a slob. Life is so terrible. God, what are you doing?! I battled all day today. We went out for a little while this afternoon and it was nice to get out, but it didn't fix things like I'd hoped it would. Then I realized something... Satan loves isolation. When we are alone, feeling run down, and beaten down, and negative, he's going to be right there, willing to hold our hands and skip straight down that ugly path. And I've let him do it for 5 days. He knows my weakness. He knows that if one little lie gets planted, I'll grow it into a grandmother willow tree all by myself. He knows that about me. He knows exactly how to use 10 days of isolation. He wanted me to come out of this feeling beat down, shamed, and worthless. He wanted me to feel defeated as a mom and as a wife. He handed me his fiddle and I played it. And ya know what? There wasn't a whole lot I could do about being stuck in the house. I wasn't taking my girls out into the arctic weather. Nobody was coming here. But it got me thinking that a lot of times there are ways we isolate ourselves when it is in our control. We isolate ourselves when we don't attend church. I will NEVER tell anyone to not go to church or find a church to get involved in. Not every church is for everyone, it may take a while to find the right church. And being involved in a church body means you've gotta just deal with folks. There's always good and bad because we're human. But if you're going to grow spiritually, you've gotta be in a Church community with other Christians. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 We isolate ourselves to hide sin. When I was trying to hide my affair, I avoided my friends. I avoided church activities. I avoided the people who loved me and knew me well. I didn't want them to see that I was hiding something. When we are alone, sinning is easy. And when we want to continue sinning, we hide. But we can not hide forever. Eventually, our sin will be brought to light. But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 We isolate ourselves out of fear. If we were honest with ourselves and sat down to make a list of the things we were afraid of, especially regarding community with other christians, I think the list would be extensive. I've got a handful of extremely close Godly friends and I still get worried about what they think of me as a person, as a mom, as a Christian. And the truth is this- we have nothing to fear. The more we cut ourselves off from others the more afraid of them we become! And that's just silly. God knows every single thing about us. Every single thing. There's nothing we can hide from him. There's nothing that we don't share with him. And he loves us anyways. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:18 So now what? We've talked about a few ways we isolate ourselves which can allow sin to grow, but what now?
Open your Bible. The more light you shine into your life the less darkness there will be. The more you know Jesus, the sooner you'll recognize those lies that satan tries to feed us. The more you know of God's character the more you'll understand just an ounce of his immeasurable love. I have to admit, I was really bad about doing this the last few days. The first problem that led to my Snowmageddon downfall. Memorize scripture. There will be times that you won't be able to run to your Bible and flip it open and read some verses. Memorize it. Know it well. That way you can easily recall it when you need it in those times. The Bible isn't called the Sword of the Spirit for nothing. It's powerful. It's truth is powerful. Get to know some folks. If you don't go to church, stop making excuses and find one. Yes, you feel like God is anywhere and you can commune with Him in nature. Good, do it after church. God NEVER intended for us to do this alone. We see that in the first few chapters of the Bible. He created Eve for Adam so he wouldn't be alone. He found 12 disciples to teach and serve with so he wasn't alone. DON'T BE ALONE!! Like I said, there are circumstances when you're going to be alone. For 5 days. With just your children. Watching it snow. Circumstances like this are unavoidable. But that's why it's important to equip yourself properly. I didn't, and I paid for it. Don't hide. Don't be afraid. Don't isolate yourself. Don't let Satan write the narrative for your day, your week, your month, years- whatever. Happy Friday! Sweet snow freedom!
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HEY, I'M JESSICA!
Christian. Wife. Mommy. Daughter. Pastor. Friend. Saved.Redeemed. Beloved.
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