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Pants & Peace

I recently was able to snag some quality time with my sweet mother-in-love. All who know her know her humble spirit and her servant heart. This lovely lady who as my Memaw Bradford (my mom’s mom) referred to as “the most gorgeous lady I’ve ever’ seen” and her husband raised two boys up to be amazing young men of God. I’ll forever be thankful to them for the man my husband is.
I said my mother-in-love & I ‘snagged’ some quality time because we don’t really make a lot of ‘girl time’ happen. We both love being with the whole family, and even though I’m not a mom I know she could never get enough time with ‘her boys’.
My mother-in-love had asked me to hem a pair of pants for her, so we were having some rare one-on-one time. I was concentrating a lot as I was very anxious to please and get these pants hemmed right for her, so she talked and shared a lot with me…
Looking back, it is a little ironic we were hemming pants because she and I both have a strong aversion to shopping for pants. As conversations turned to health issues and individual struggles, we laughed again at our shared deep disdain for shopping for pants…
Then, somewhere along the way our conversation turned to the topic of peace. She shared about her prayers for peace and how hard having peace is. She shared that maybe she is never meant to have peace (in regards to a certain issue) and then shared she knows we live in a fallen world so even with Christ there won’t be true peace.
Her words stuck me hard. I definitely agreed with her premise and I have a feeling I understand she meant – this one issue might not ever improve. Life on earth isn’t going to be perfect or we wouldn’t strive for Heaven.
I think we all react different to certain words, and we all have different outlooks on some issues because God made us all different.
I will be lucky to be half the mother, wife, friend, and humble servant my mother-in-law is. Yet, I must share… as Christians I think we sometimes put God in a box… I’ve done it. Correction: I do it!
I do it often with specific/certain struggles. This conversation with my mother-in-love reminded me… Just because we know a premise to be true ‘We live in a fallen world.’ and ‘Life as a Christian isn’t meant to be strife free.’ doesn’t mean we should draw conclusions to them especially a conclusion that limits God. I believe God can take away or help me through all my struggles – now I don’t FEEL that way every day, but I believe it because my Lord is that powerful.

This special one-on-one time was interrupted and much too short, but what a blessing to be reminded how powerful our Lord is by hemming pants and talking about peace.

"It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens." Jeremiah 10:12

Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

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