I was excited to sit down and work my way through this survey this week. Lore Ferguson Wilbert posted it, so I knew it would be thoughtful and and helpful.
But what I didn’t know was that reflecting this would would include a time of grief and mourning over my sin.
Exiting 2016 and going in to 2017, I have one major takeaway:
Time spent angry is an absolute waste of time.
I did cry a bit over all the wasted hours and days I looked back on this year. They were the result of a plethora of reasons, but behind them was a lie that the anger would somehow produce the result I wanted. Nope.
“…the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:20
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” Psalm 37:8
There is no wisdom in ungodly anger. It is not constructive. It is not helpful.
Friends, by the grace of God, by all means, all means, flee anger this year!
The comforting thing that happened while I went through this surprising process of mourning over my sin was the God reminded me that just as His mercies are new every day, His mercies are new for every year He gives us. 2016 is truly over. Grace covers 2016. Grace is covering and leading me into 2017, and it can do the same for you. This is the joy I look forward to Tomorrow.
There were other constructive, encouraging things that came out as a result of my time spent praying through these things with the Lord. I’ll probably be saying no to a lot of things and people this year. God’s reminding me to pursue the considerableness of loving Him and others in my home well. I hope to take off the expectations off of myself, and others, and put them only on the Lord. I want to cultivate joy in the work God has wisely given me in my family. I want to continue to grow into the grace God has richly supplied me through Christ Jesus.
In Christ,
Lexy
In the Marginalia 