To celebrate the season of love, the series in church is all about, yep, you guessed it, LOVE. Yesterday, Pastor Dennis and his wife Thammie talked about marriage.
I got to church early (right after the 230pm service) and got RL to sleep while waiting for the next service. I was really, really tired and sleepy. I was trying so hard not to doze off. After praise and worship, Pastor Jason and his wife Kat led the congregation in prayer (and I asked God to keep me awake!). The feeling after was quite a surprise. I felt so hyper after the prayer, it was like drinking 3 cups of coffee! Thank you for that quick answer, Lord.
I guess the Lord wanted me to hear the message yesterday. And I know it was indeed for me. Pastor Dennis started the message and half an hour later, he had Thammie talk to the women in the theatre. It was Thammie's first time to give the message (not the first time on stage as she regularly leads Worship), and she's quite a good speaker.
SEASONS
Anyone goes through different seasons in life. A woman's would be single-hood, courtship, engagement, married life, motherhood with little kids, etc. Different seasons. Some stay in a certain season for years. Others breeze through seasons! I remember attending a talk by Kay Warren (wife of Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life) many years ago at CCF and she talked specifically on this. She shares that regardless of the season of life you are in, God is in control. The way to get through each season is to find joy regardless of the season you are in.
I AM IN A SEASON OF SEPARATION. HOW DO I FIND JOY IN THAT?
Thammie, in her message yesterday, shares the same thing as Warren does, but goes further by quoting John 10:10. Regardless of the season you are in, God wants you to experience life to the full. "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus came for that very reason - that we may live our life to the fullest! The bible does not say "when you finally find the man of your dreams, you will live life to the full," nor does it say "once your husband finally changes and comes back, you find fulfillment." Find Jesus, and eventually joy, in your mess of a marriage!
Two things struck me the most in Thammie's message.
1) WE MUST BE READY AT ANY GIVEN TIME. The Lord spreads out opportunities for us in a given lifetime. We must always be ready, regardless of the season we're in. Sometimes, the opportunity is there, but we miss it, because we are not ready to receive it. Case in point: R's brush with death circa August 2009. It was a chance for him to change. A chance for us to get back together. However, now that I think about it, I WASN'T READY. Look at how we still bicker at the trivial stuff. I haven't changed. The change has to come from me first. Why so? Because I am the Christian and I should know better. Sadly, I missed the boat. I praise God for making me realize this during Thammie's message!
2) BEAUTY COMES FROM A HEART OVERFLOWING WITH LOVE. This was a footnote Thammie mentioned. She talked about how people in love "bloomed". How brides seem to glow, and how this all boils down to the high feeling one gets when "in love". I take it as the best beauty advice I've ever heard. I remember when R and I first got together, and how our officemates would comment on how I glowed. I suppose the best glow would come from the One who gives beauty at its best. I vow to find that glow in falling in love with my God.
I may be in a season of melancholy (well, that's the popular emotion that goes along with separation), but I choose joy over sadness! Follow me on my journey as I find beauty and purpose in the season God has blessed me with.
HE IS IN CONTROL.
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