Gospel Suffering

My wife is the real writer in this family. She recently wrote about the topic of suffering and was very candid sharing the wave after wave of suffering we have navigated as a family. She nailed it and I wanted to share her words with readers of theMangoTimes.

You can read everything she says over at KendraFletcher.com, but this specific post can be found by clicking directly here:

When Suffering Comes Blow by Blow by Blow (and How to Help)

My favorite line in her post is this: “It is this suffering life to which we are called, but we cannot embrace its grace until we recognize that the Bible, Christ’s life, and ours in discipleship is a life called to pain and brokenness. God triumphs, though. This earth isn’t heaven.”

After the last few years of let downs, false starts, loss and pain, sometimes we need to learn to sit in that pain recognizing that God is still in sovereign control. We can kick and scream and yell all we want, but there is also a place of peace knowing that God knows, He cares and He’s got this. Anyhow, enough of my thoughts, go read her words.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

Signs

I can probably stop saying this, but our older children can affirm that above and beyond the typical household rules they were raised with strong undertones of religion and the rigid behavior associated. That was before we woke up from our gospel amnesia.

This sign stares down on our kitchen table. A daily reminder to all of us as to whose we are!

I have noticed a change though. The other day I grabbed my phone and took a few pictures of the art and posters that we have hanging around our house. Kendra has always been purposeful in what we hang on our walls, so I was particularly interested in a few of the signs and what they communicate. I am pretty stoked to see the change and what words are placed around our home, especially the ones that communicate to us that God's love is abundant and His grace is scandalous.

The idea behind a lot of these signs is to saturate our family with the gospel. Notice: I did not say saturate our kids. I said saturate our family. Long gone are the days that dad and mom have this all figured out and we put up things to teach the kids. We need the gospel communicated to us on a moment by moment basis just as much as our children. We need to learn what it looks like to be the chief confessors in our home and then model that in front of our kids. I want them to see that we fail and we need Jesus just as much as them.

These little signposts are used to help remind the entire family that we are all part of the same journey. We are all seeking after God. Compared to previous days in our home, these signs can help us to remember that we are pursuing Him and the righteousness that only Jesus can provide.

We sometimes need to remember that we serve a very big God who holds all of time and space within the palm of His hand. We need to remember to dream big and ask God to help us think beyond our limited resources. It is also okay to fail. Dream big. Let God fill in the gaps and meet the needs. It's good to watch Him open the doors that we think are shut tight and shut doors that we are trying to pry open.

Hey readers!  I'm not writing this out to sound prideful. I'm not showing off. I'm not saying, "Hey look at our cool family and the stuff we put on our walls. You should be just like us." That's a bunch of crap and I don't play the comparison game. Nah, I just thought it was cool to see a physical change around our home that complements a non-visual change taking place in the family that lives in that home. That being said, are you looking for positive inspirational artwork? Consider the Fletchifesto! 

Quietly making noise,
Fletch