“8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” Romans 12:8-9(NLT)
My next-door neighbors had been married for over 69 years, and Mrs. Langston was full of wisdom and generous in sharing it. She said to me, "Always remember to teach your kids that they should do what needs to be done first, and they can then do what they want when their responsibilities are completed.” This beloved couple passed away, but their words of wisdom have stuck with me, and I draw from them throughout my life. I lived across the street from them for eight years, and I gained so much knowledge and wisdom from watching and listening to them.
Mr. Langston was very methodical and hardly ever wavered from his routines. For instance, every two years he traded his vehicle, figuring that was a sure way not to run into costly repairs. Every Monday on garbage pick-up day, not only did he take care of his own, but he was religious about returning my garbage receptacle to my yard. They were wonderfully giving and generous, and as a single parent, they helped me tremendously.
When I was contemplating, I leaned on God totally for direction and didn't make choices and decision without receiving a greenlight from Him. There is no doubt in my mind that He strategically positioned me in the same neighborhood as this couple, and it felt like they were my guardian angels, always looking out for me. Psalm 5:12(NLT) tells us, "For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love." Through this couple, Heavenly Father showed me His gracious favor.
In Malachi 3:6(NLT), Heavenly Father tells us, "I am the LORD, and I do not change." God is magnificently perfect and everything He does is loving and perfect as well. He never makes a mistake, and He is faithful to His Word. Just as He strategically positioned me and my family in a wonderful neighborhood, He also strategically places us in the bloodlines of our families, and He does so for His divine purpose and reason. Nothing about us is random, and we must renew our minds to this truth.
Sometimes, we have dynamics and dysfunction in our families that are very painful. As children we didn't understand things, and as adults, we may want to be as far away from it as possible. As followers of Christ, we must do as he instructs and commands us. He tells us that we must not hold resentment and bitterness in our hearts, but we must forgive any wrongs committed against us. Often, our parents and grandparents continue patterns of behavior because they didn't know the love of Jesus Christ. They didn't learn how to love, support, and care for another through him, so they were not able to nurture us because they didn't know how.
God tells us in Ephesians 4:32(NLT), "Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." There will always be individuals in our family that we must love from a distance, but we can't harbor feelings of resentment and bitterness towards anyone. We also must allow for the possibility that our purpose in God's Will is to help our families. Sometimes we are the conduits to connect certain members of our family to His healing power. God chose to put us in our families, and as we are prayerful and led by His Spirit, we can partner with Heavenly Father to be a tremendous spiritual blessing to our families. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Your Family and Friends Are Not A Mistake”, written by Kim Times for Springfield Fellowship, Inc. ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
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