Dear parents,
We’re getting close to the end of autumn. Work overload, the needs of our children and our family situation present many challenges and can seem insurmountable. I share this text to encourage you.
The Power of Trusting in a God Who Can Do All Things
Don’t feel guilty, don’t grieve, because what could have been for our evil, God can change it for our good (see the story of Joseph in Genesis 45:1-5).
The tragedies of our lives, the abuse of our childhood, the pain in our families, the failures, the abandonments, the rejections, the injustices, are not greater than God. He is a God who can transform our hearts and evil into good.
We may see certain behaviors in our children at certain ages and wonder why I didn’t do this or that. We may also experience situations in our relationship that seem insurmountable. Let’s step back, take a breath and remember all the times God came to our rescue. He can do it again today.
God uses all our personal trials to shape us in His image.
When cynicism, anger and bitterness overwhelm us, let’s not feel guilty or grieve, let’s choose the path of forgiveness. What is meant for our evil, God can turn it for our good.
God transforms circumstances and hearts. Let’s not limit ourselves to what we were. Let’s not limit our children to what they are today. God is greater. The past has no future with him. Any suffering our family endures can be healed by God!
My wife Myriam Barthélemy was encouraged this week by a homeschooling mother she has worked with in a co-op for over 13 years. She said : “I was worried when I observed your children’s behavior and the way you dealt with them at the start of your homeschooling journey. Watching them today, as your two oldest are 17 and 15, they are very well-behaved, inspiring children.” Let’s not limit ourselves to what we see in our children today.
Here’s a truth to declare in our hearts, for our relationship, our family, our children, our future: no matter how high the walls are raised against us, His hand of infinite grace can topple them and restore us. If it’s true that our traumas often come from relationships, so do our healings. In our relationship with God, with His people, with His Church, let us be renewed in the thought that what could have been for our evil,
God can and will ultimately transform it into good. God is great.
I close with this verse:
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7
