Perfectly Imperfect

Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

The truth is in a delicate balance with grace. "Everything that you say must be true but not everything that is true must be said," Pastor Groeschel.  Over the years, I've tried to keep the balance between truth and Grace. It's hard. Discernment is needed. I fail more times than I should especially with those closest to me. Yet, I still try to get it right. 

This verse hit me today because  technology is changing how I see this verse. I was starting to make our family's 2019 slideshow. The first pictures of 2019 are family pics we took after my grandmother's funeral. We are smiling in front of my Grammie's red barn. We were celebrating her life but her being gone has been more difficult than I could imagine but you don't see that in my 2019 highlight reel. You also see the same type of picture after Chad's grandmother passed away but you might not recognize Chad's Bell's Palsy or know how much stress he was under at that time.  There are no pics from the hardest days of 2019 and there are no social media posts from the hardest days I've ever faced this year but again not everything that is true must be said. And everything I've posted, is true. Yet putting together a 2019 family slideshow, showed me the biggest moments, the hardest moments aren't captured by a camera but were captured by our hearts. 

When I looked at my social media posts for 2019, although everything I posted was true, there is an aspect of deceit in never posting the bad days. Wanting people to think or believe you are doing great with the highlights but never giving a glimpse into how hard life actually is. I felt convicted to make sure others out there know that the Stone's aren't perfect. We have had our share of rough times this year. Details aren't important but the truth is. And the truth is, we've struggled but the truth is we also stand together even stronger and we celebrate our highlights because they truly do mean more to you when you suffered through some lows together.

As 2019 comes to an end and this decade closes, I can't help but look forward to spending the first few days of 2020 in Miami. I can't help but look forward to a fresh start with our family not because we are perfect but because we are perfectly imperfect. 

When You Are Called to Love

Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

Jesus instructed us all on how to act with those that mistreat us, hate us, and serve as enemies against us. Jesus lived this out when he prayed for those persecuting Him on the cross. But as a Christian, I seldom see Christians getting this part right and that includes me.

Several years ago when the kids were younger, we encountered our first "being let go" from our coaching jobs. This hurt tremendously as we had plans for being there a long time, we had family close by and we were turning a corner in the program and it was all taken away by a new Superintendent. We were all so disappointed and angry. I could tell bitterness could take an easy root in our angry hearts, so I did something about it. Everytime any of the four of us, had a negative thing to say about our circumstances of moving, we had to say at the end, "God Bless ______" (insert name of superintendent here). It developed to anytime one of us thought something negative about our move we'd say out loud "God Bless _____" It developed into all 4 of us finishing each other's sentences saying "God Bless ______" Now these blessings did not come out cheerful. They didn't sound genuine. And still today if something is said about that time period in our life it ends with "God Bless ____". But it did allow us to teach our kids to bless those who come against them and it did stop bitterness from taking control of us.

But since then, there have been many others who have come against us. There have been many decisions made by people that I just don't understand or agree with. I even tried to skirt by not having to pray for any of them by not letting anger take root in me and just forgiving those who come against our family. But God convicted me. The verse doesn't say "do good to those you hate" it says do good to those  who hate you "! So me forgiving them doesn't mean they don't still hate me".You still have to "Pray for those who mistreat you" even if you feel you have forgiven them, you really haven't forgiven them if praying for them is hard to do. 

To me this is the hardest thing Jesus asked us to do, love our enemies.  But when I look at it from a parents perspective, I can remember times when my son and daughter argued so much, fought over things, and truly were each other's biggest enemy. I remember separating the two, and reminding them that they are family, they are on the same team, and they need to love each other and help each other rather than fighting. And then I realize how I see my kids, is exactly how God sees all of us. We are all His children. That is why He wants us to love one another.

I challenge Christians everywhere to pray for those who come against you. It's OK if it's not genuine at first, keep praying, and even if your prayers don't change the person you are praying for, or don't change the circumstances, it will change you and serve as a barrier for your heart to not be consumed with bitterness and anger.