Choose to Love, Not Feel

Today at church, we looked at Ephesians 6:1- 9. We are all aware of these verses about honoring and obeying our parents. (vs. 1-4). It really made me think of my ministry in the home. What an honor and privilege I have in raising four boys. But oh what an overwhelming responsibility! These verses made me aware of the importance that my every action, reaction, and thought is towards this call. How do I view this responsibility? How many times do I drown myself in frustration, anguish, and heartache with each day? If I am honest, with the boys being sick this week, just going through a move, finishing up the school year, and a lot of financial obstacles, I haven't been able to see through the burden to see the blessing. I know that the boys can feel and see this. We tend to let our hair down the most with the ones that we love the most. Wow, do I feel like a bum! I know that I haven't been such an example of Christ's love through this time. Our children get a view of God's love through our parental love. I don't want my children to grow up feeling that the Lord is tempermental and hormonal as I have been. We also talked this morning about 1 John 4:7, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." God's love always comes with a choice that is followed by action. We can choose to get enundated with the world's stress and pressures and miss our blessings; or we can stop, breathe, realize that there is a choice to be made and follow up with acting in love, despite our feelings. I am so thankful that the Lord doesn't respond to me acccording to His feelings and emotions. I have a choice! Today is a new day to recommit to a Christ-like response versus reacting in our emotions. I choose Christ!