God's Goodness

Thriving is directly connected to peace at "home."

The Father's Day blog stirred up some phone calls. "Kay, I read your Father's day blog. I understood your heart; but it was unsettling for me. When I think of my father I only feel anger or absence of any feelings. What am I to do?" spoke an honest friend upon my request of reading my blog. A few daughters who have wonderful relationships with their fathers saw it as "just fine." Sorting through these different reactions is interesting for me in my journey to wholeness and maturity.

Hearing the pain of my unsettled friend initially made me question my wisdom in sharing my heart. Then I realized her hope is to be whole and clean of anything that conflicts with God's best for her. So, I stirred her up. Status quo isn't always best in our spiritual journey. She has shared with me that she knows she needs to forgive her father on deeper levels. How can she possibly forgive what she cannot see or face? I've learned that some trauma incurred at early years of age can be difficult to face.

Our heart attitude toward our father and mother will affect all significant relationships in our lives. (I have explored many behaviour experts study on this subject. I have found none who will disagree with this opinion.)

When I began daring to look at the hurtful areas of my childhood I came through some extreme change, pain and life-giving freedom. Sticking my neck out here is a bit unsettling, but my hope is someone can be free in ways God has freed me. I well recall years ago, when I would think back to my dad and I felt nothing. I did not come to "honor" him until I faced what I missed in his absence. Christian mentors and God's Word opened up a wonderful life for me.

I returned last evening from a powerful Christian meeting with Jack Taylor, R.T. Kendall and Charles Carrin: Word, Spirit and Power. These giants in the faith encouraged all of us to know that the profound truth of the power to live vibrantly is ours through Jesus Christ. But they each made it clear that pain cannot be avoided to get to all God has for us. In context of today's blog I see the truth they shared relating to our willingness to face ourselves and invite God's Truth to show any area of our lives that needs examination, prayer, Bible study and transformation.

We emotionally damaged adult daughters and sons can be truly healed, restored and whole through the goodness of God in our lives. Whenever I have shared my recovery and processing this 5th commandment: Honor thy mother and father; I always get people telling me they cannot honor their father or mother. "You just don't know my situation,” is their position. I sound like a broken record on this one: "This is not a suggestion, it is a command."

For me, coming to know that I could not process and do this on my own was a freedom. God, Holy Spirit, is my hope in even grasping the true meaning of the Scriptures.

Tomorrow we will explore how Holy Spirit opens up the Truth in the Bible. For today may we all celebrate our uniqueness....each of us is truely one of a kind. We cannot be replicated. So, may we honor our parents in that they were critical to our creation and therefore, uniqueness?

In God's goodness, He has a destiny for unique "you" that is wonderful.

In closing, I want to share with you PRAYgreenville's coordinator, Karen Lucci's words:
Although I thought I had a general understanding of the word good, I decided to look it up in Strong’s and here is what I found in the Hebrew (2896): beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, fair, favour, fine, glad, good, gracious, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh, loving, merry, most, pleasant, pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, be well favoured. It is a highly underrated word. When Abraham asked God to show him His glory, God told him that His goodness would pass by. Goodness and glory. How can we manifest the glory? By showing goodness. " http://www.greenvilleconnect.org/

No one can show goodness exactly like you can.