Day 11
Scripture focus: Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12 NIV
"I am going to spend the rest of my life making a living amends to my wife and children for all I've put them through." And he has. After years of moving in and out of sobriety, this guy made a decision to do more than get sober - he chose to come clean. Coming clean to me means digging in and dealing with more than just the symptoms of our dis-ease. It requires actually doing something about the underlying series of maladaptive beliefs and behaviors that made these symptoms so attractive in the first place.
Meetings, counseling, small groups, asking for feedback and following through with suggestions, financial planning, time management, sacrifice, suffering for the sake of others, nutrition classes, fitness regime and much, much more were all ingredients necessary for the tough task of soul restoration. In summation - my friend became willing.
"Willingness is characterized by the ability to see things from another person's perspective or at least be interested enough to acknowledge that not everyone sees things the way you do. Willing people realize not only that they are not always right, but they need to make things right when they are wrong. Willing people jump into recovery or counseling because they know there is a world of information about themselves they don't have and will not be able to find on their own. Willing people are able to shut up for a while and listen to someone else who might have something valuable to contribute to their lives." (Stephen Arturburn, Reframe Your Life, pp. 33 and 34)
If you've been stubbornly resistant your whole life, I suggest you ask God to make you willing. He will if you will.
Recommended reading: Genesis 25-26 in the morning; Psalm 10 in the evening
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 TNIV
9 comments:
Oh my goodness-like father like son-Issac did the same thing Abraham did in telling Abimelech that his wife was his sister. They both lied to the same guy about the same thing...hmmm
I think I smell a maladaptive behavior-what was Isaac's maladaptive belief?
You know, I'm sitting here shaking my head and thinking tsk, tsk, tsk-didn't Issac see that he was repeating bad behavior-wasn't he aware of his father's bad example? Then I wondered did Abraham sit around the campfire and recall the incident about handing Mom over not once but twice as his sister not wife-did he laugh about it...did he ever come clean about it with Issac and Sarah and make amends...the scripture doesn't say. Would Issac have believed and behaved differently if Dad had??
Then I think how easy it to see another's disfunction. The bible gives us an awesome example in this story to reflect on what's being repeated in our own families, don't ya think?
ok-then there's another part of the story-go back to Genisis 22 where Abraham places Issac on the altar. This account of Abraham leaves me speechless-this was a man of great faith-I cannot imagine how he could do this-how he trusted God so completely. And how amazing is it that God reveals to us all the total, complete, untouched, no-airbrushing included, picture of Abraham-a flawed human being with great faith-and God remained faithful to him...
are there any people out there???
having a conversation with one's self is fascinating
I wonder if we could see our own problem behaviors as easily as it is to see this family continue to repeat the same bad choices, what would we do with that information? Would it break our heart? Would we change?
i find whenever i am noticing anothers behavior issues, it is because i have taken the focus off of mine. That AND 3 out of 5 times it is a behavior i have (or DO) myself! Its easiest to laugh at myself when it happens and remember, sometimes when im looking at others im actually looking into a mirror. It helps me see the world a little brighter!
love and peace
I like the question that you ask, anonymous-would it break my own heart and would it make me change-I have been thinking about that today-the things that I am not addressing in my own life...the things I'd not like to pass down to my children.
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