Hand in Hand

Remembering when the girls were little....under the age of 8....

.....and their little hands would clasp mine (or Dave's) holding on as we walked, ran, skipped, trudged.  In sunshine and rain, on the sand and up the trails. Across the busy parking lots and down the street to friends.

Holding hands.  It reminds me of what I read the last two mornings.

One devotional was about trust and thankfulness.  

And how they go hand in hand. 

It was from the Jesus Calling devotional book.  

I think God was wanting to remind me that trust and thankfulness help us get through the days. In peace.  By trusting Him we can stop worrying or obsessing.  

By thanking Him, we are less likely to be critical and complaining.  I actually purpose in my heart each day to find the blessings...whether they be big or small.  It really helps.  I encourage you to live in gratitude, too.  

But more than that....God also wanted me to remember that we need a healthy dose of "the fear of the Lord".  This was brought out in something I read from the non-fiction book You and Me Forever (see my side bar).  I bought the book for my husband for Christmas and I've just started reading it.  It is a wonderful book  that I do recommend because it's not the kind of marriage book you might think it is!  I was very surprised.

Anyways...in reading through chapter 1, I learned that most marital difficulties are simply that each person does not have a good healthy fear of the Lord.  That we turn to quick fixes or marriage counseling or prayer partners or good works or "to do lists for marriages" but we forget God!! 

We need to think of our marriage partner in light of eternity. Where do we want our partner to be in eternity??  How do we relate while here on earth??

And it tied in so nicely with my thoughts about trust and thankfulness.  Because, in a healthy marriage, we trust our spouse.  And that trust leads to more intimacy in all areas (not just the physical).  And keeping a  thankful heart for this spouse (whom, if we are believers, was brought to us by God), will help our attitudes and actions towards each other in our daily mundane lives.  

There are so many more things I could write about here that God is showing me about marriage....my marriage....and about our relationship with Him.

But for now.....trusting God and being purposefully thankful each day will help me walk hand in Hand with Him...and in so doing, it will help us walk hand in hand with each other.