Good Friday

To be perfectly honest, my Good Friday has been a Frustrating Friday, Disappointing Friday, Grumpypants Friday, and Miscommunication Friday, but not really Good Friday. I adore Good Friday and Easter – it’s the most important weekend of the entire year to me, because it reminds me that my Savior is alive! He wins! No matter what happens, no matter what foolishness I have to deal with here on earth, my God wins, every time, hands down, knock-out punch in the first round – done. Winner winner chicken dinner. Oh yeah!

Instead of focusing on that, my day has been a mess. Should I be surprised to feel like my marriage is under attack? Maybe the enemy got a little annoyed when a dear friend told us that we were one of those couples that “looked like God meant them to be together.” He wasn’t talking about complementary facial features – he gave us one of the most amazing compliments I’ve ever received by saying that, when he looked at us, he could tell that God was working in our lives. Awesome! Or maybe the enemy was a little threatened when yet another friend told us yesterday that we “made marriage look good” because her girls were in awe of our relationship.

That is the kind of Christian I want to be, and the kind of marriage I want to have. I want God to be working through me and in everything I do so clearly that it’s unmistakable and glorifying to my Father. And you know what else? I get tired of the attacks. It’s exhausting and I know that there is no way that I can possibly understand how much greater the battle is where I can’t see it. But I would rather be under attack, knowing that it means I’m doing the right thing if the enemy has ruffled feathers, than to live a complacent life hovering in between because I’m too afraid to face what I know will happen. The best part? No matter how exhausting, or how under attack – My God Wins!

I know this is a long post already, but as a way to kick off Easter weekend and the celebration of the resurrection of my Savior, I wanted to share what I posted on Beth Moore’s blog today. She asked her readers to share their testimonies (briefly, it is a blog after all, not a novel). If I’m okay sharing this with 600 complete strangers, you better believe I’m going to post it here! Feel free to comment with your own story – when did you receive Christ as your personal Savior? How old were you and what were the circumstances leading up to your decision? Here’s mine:

I was 16. I was sitting in the auditorium at my high school because friends of mine had started this thing called “United” – a group that met on Thursday mornings to worship God and pray before school started. I had no idea what was going on and only went because of my friends, but God really started to work on my heart. I was so broken, so in need of my Savior, and I finally gave Him my life because I couldn’t do it on my own anymore. I hadn’t grown up in church, my parents were divorced and I was being bounced around every other weekend with my sister for mandatory visits. I didn’t know who I could trust, was afraid to open my heart, and was so bitter and anger. I never had anyone pray a salvation prayer with me, or mentor me through my first days, weeks, months, etc. – so it wasn’t easy. I kept asking over and over again for forgiveness because I wasn’t sure I’d “done it the right way.” I didn’t know that I was supposed to even tell anyone that I had this new relationship with God! Praise God for His goodness, grace, and mercy. He put friends in my life that encouraged me and helped me to develop my relationship with Jesus. One of those friends is now my husband, and partner in ministry – God is good!