Embracing Life ~ by... Cherishing God's Gifts

Embracing Life ~ by... Cherishing God's Gifts

Patricia Ann, Originally posted on Monday, March 26, 2012
There was a man who prayed night and day for a family, for a wife and children. His first wife had died and he was lonely. He would drive by neighborhoods sometimes and see parents playing with their children in the yard, pushing them on a swing set or playing ball. And this man wanted this life more than ever. So he prayed and he prayed.
 
And one day, as God answers prayers, this man met a nice woman who had two children. They began to date

and later married. 
He had told her of his dream to have a family and as the four of them started life together as a family, she thought that the man she married would be a wonderful husband and father - one who would help in raising the children - just as he dreamed - playing ball and enjoying family life. 
 
But this man, who had this great dream for his life, didn't embrace what God had given him.  He didn't cherish the answer to his prayer - he didn't cherish his new wife or his new children. 
Instead he headed off to work and for the next 10 years, he was working more hours than he was spending with his family.  He became resentful of his wife and the children, often ridiculing them calling them lazy.  His expectations were too high for anyone to achieve his love and attention.  He became angry and their life together became one of sadness

and sorrow.
 
His wife and children needed the presence of a Godly man in the home.  They desired to have a husband and father.
God calls men to love their wives as Christ loves the church.  This man was called to be there for his family as the spiritual head of the house, protecting what God has given him. 
In this case, the man was too busy to take on the role that he had prayed for for so long.
He didn't spend time with God or his family.
His work became his God and his family fell apart.
 
I wonder, how many families are living in similar circumstances today?
 
So often God's priorities for His children get confused, and messed up.
 
Greed and the love of money, the love of making a successful living comes first and family suffers.
Families break apart and the heart of each family member hurts from the loss. God's heart aches for His children as He waits for them to come to Him for healing and guidance. 
 
How can a man be the spiritual head of the family if he isn't spending quality time with God and at home? 
How can a woman be a wife and mother if she isn't spending quality time with God and at home? 
 
Both men and women have been responsible for abandoning God's plan for families, instead seeking the love of money, success and personal achievement.
 
Do they not see that success is measured in God's love, His plan for our lives and in living according to His ways?

In doing so, we achieve immeasurable successes in every aspect of life. 
 
God gives us many Words to help us live our daily lives according to His plan.
 
God created man. He created woman to share life with man. He created rules for man and woman to live by and as sinners since the beginning of time, these rules get misunderstood and broken. 
 
My prayer for today is that we take the time to cherish the gifts that God has given to us.  Through His love we have the opportunity to experience life to the fullest with a family, spouse and children. 
 
It is important to cherish the sweet breath of a newborn baby, experience a baby's laughter and it's first steps. There are so many "firsts" that we miss when we lose our focus on our God-given roles as parents. 
 
I pray that all of God's children will truly embrace life together - sharing a God-given life, able to  recognize and focus on cherishing God's gifts every day.   
 
Let us not put the love of money and career before our families, so that we can live life successfully and abundantly according to plans of Our Father in Heaven. 
 
Blessings to all in His precious Name, Amen.
 
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
“Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” Ecclesiastes 5:10
“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13