Joy: 37-Day DevotionalSample

I've got this. I'm strong, capable, and independent.

That's a worthy female mantra in today's world. For years, I clung to it. As a scrawny kid whose father’s addictions made him absent, it became my battle cry. As a 19-year-old college student in a casual relationship who found myself pregnant and terrified, I clung to it. As my first marriage failed and I found myself a single mother of two before age thirty, it became my life preserver. And then again, less than three years into my second marriage, I sat across from a Christian counselor beside my angry and distant husband and the all-too-familiar chorus rang in my head. "I survived one divorce; I can survive another. I've got this."

My independence made me hard. I had created a lifetime habit of depending on me, myself, and I. It took a looming second failed marriage for me to see finally that I wasn't powerful, I was overpowered. I was living life on my own, though God had given me a partner to walk with me. I was tired.

When I finally allowed God to tug at the knots I had wrapped my heart into, I began to see my husband through the lens of Jesus. His faults became opportunities for forgiveness and extensions of grace. When life became heavy, I didn't put on my big girl panties and carry it alone. I cried out to God and He pointed me to my mate who was more than willing to lessen the load. I replaced the chip on my shoulder with vulnerability.

Whether you're single or married, God has given you a person or people in your life to lean into. Don't push them away for the sake of pride or fear. Allow God to make you stronger through your relationships and through His love. 

Father God, give me the strength to be vulnerable and ask for help. Soften my heart and guard my tongue so that my marriage and relationships will become stronger and reflect your love and grace. Amen