Welcome to the January 17th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story Of My Week
My wife and I had our first meeting with our counselors this week.
Learning from the experience of our first counseling relationship since we had been married last year, I was pretty convinced that we need to sign up for one every year.
One thing I realized is that it is better to work with one that has a structure and starts with the couple filling individual questionnaires.
The two I have been part of have had that and I can see their value. Questionnaires help you and your spouse to say stuff you didn’t know you needed to say.
It’s also a simpler of discovering pain points which you feel.
Last year’s counseling was very helpful to both of us. The value of how we expressed ourselves in this year’s first session is a testament to what our counselors from last year did.
Counseling is a great way to keep growing your marriage.
In case you haven’t this before, let me say here “ healthy marriages go for counseling so they can keep getting better - it’s not just sick marriages that go for counseling”
Going for our first session was a big win for us and a sure sign of how much we have grown in one year.
Things I Learnt
1-Saved on the Money: I got saved from losing my company 10,000 euros.
We were dealing with a reputable company that we had done business with in the past.
The problem was with the staff that was assigned to handle our account.
He said all the right things but something didn’t compute in how he was trying to get us to execute the transaction.
He made a change to the transaction which put me on inquiry. The second thing was when he sent me the email without copying any other member of his company.
Well, God had given me the clarity to know that was odd. So, I responded and copied members of his company and our company.
Eventually, I got a call from his boss saying the guy had done something wrong and had been let go from the company.
It was one of those times when a moment of clarity and a combination of roadblocks in a smooth flowing transaction saved the day.
I don’t ignore that God was at work.
Even if it seemed to be in the background.
He prepped my mind to see the disconnect in the whole situation.
And He saved us from losing money.
2-Suffering on the Road: In one of the groups I’m on, there was a conversation on suffering.
I think most of us have been taught to see suffering as evil because it brings pain.
Yes, there are dumb action stimulated suffering caused by our stupidity and mistakes.
But I’m talking about the suffering you get to take not because of your stupidity or sin. It’s the kind of suffering that God “calls” for you.
Ezekiel’s wife died, Hosea got an adulterous wife and the main man Job lost everything while he was minding his own business.
And we may never know the reason why we go through these kinds of sufferings.
Our lives are part of God’s overarching masterpiece He is putting together. And we may never fully understand on this side of heaven how everything fits together.
But we cannot run away from this suffering.
It’s the bitter herbs that seasons our faith journey to release its distinctive flavor in a way that is personal to us.
I pray I will be ready when my time comes.
And may you be ready when your time comes.
Postscript
May the sufferings of Christ remind you that no suffering is wasted in God’s kingdom. May you draw hope from that to know the God is painting a glorious masterpiece with the sufferings of His saints (Amen)
0 comments