Life with Sally

Motherhood is a long game, a marathon. There is no quick fix to make it easy. No amount of ranting or complaining can change the fact that we live in a fallen world, a battleground for souls.

Last weekend, Clay and I celebrated our marriage of 43 years — quite a legacy. We could never have imagined the adventures, legacy, lessons we would learn about life through our many years.

In order to have a deeper personal faith, a foundation of truth based on reading God's word, a habit of journaling and prayer, a trust in His goodness, a dependence on His counsel through His Holy Spirit, I must practice my spiritual walk as I practice my physical walk — as a discipline of my life every day.

God designed women to be strong agents of love, redemption, truth and beauty. The more clearly we can define our design and purpose, the more peace of mind and flourishing our lives will be.

Even now, my heart is tempted to deep discouragement as I ponder unanswered prayer, world issues, life tragedies of friends and family. Yet, walking with God through these pathways for many years has taught me to hold fast to faith, to cultivate thankfulness, to believe in His presence and reality.

Building virtue, character, and righteousness into the life of a child is a lifelong commitment. But influence always starts out with a relationship with someone who is trustworthy, one who has integrity, who is gracious and kind.

Every day of your life, you have the potential of leaving a godly model to follow, a kingdom message to believe, an integrity that is holy and a purpose that is eternal.

Sometimes, I think mamas hold the whole world together. Their work is that important. Much of our lives as a family has been a battle through raging storms. But, there are some amazing graces on this side of motherhood, when my four children have reached adulthood

To know and believe that God "wills us to be as free as birds," and cares that we we are pleased is oxygen to our hearts that long to know His love. Just a little thought to ponder this week as we seek to show our children His gracious, generous love toward us.

God's word became to me a guide for how to find peace in relationships, how to invest in them with God's word as my guide. I still have conflict along my pathway, but I have been straining forward in learning how to avoid as much of unnecessary conflict as possible—and how to love better.