Who I Am In Christ: United with Him

Becoming one with a wonderful man!

The dust had settled, the presents were unwrapped, and the thank you notes had been sent...but though the wedding festivities were over, the good work of becoming one had just started.  We got married at an older age (no we're not THAT old! :) but we weren't fresh out of college, so I wasn't sure how difficult the process of becoming one might prove to be.  And let me tell you, there were definitely things to work through:  how we washed the dishes, who paid the bills, how much and where we would both work, where we would live, go to church, and a host of other things.  But it has been an adventure that I wouldn't have passed up for anything....and we're going to be working on this beautiful process until Jesus takes us home.  


The process of becoming one with a spouse reminds me of the process we go through as believers, in becoming one with Christ.  We read in 1 Corinthians 6:17 (HCSB):  But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him....and I think of the 'already, not yet' reality in both marriage and our sanctification.  When we made our vows on our wedding day, we were declared husband and wife by the pastor, just as we are declared righteous and children of God when we profess faith in Christ.  But the process of becoming one, in both cases, is a long, glorious, and sometimes arduous journey.  


Just this morning in my ladies' Bible study, we were discussing this in depth:  

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  (HCSB)  ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

I think differently now that I am married:  I no longer make decisions just for myself, but with my husband in mind...what would he think about this purchase?  How would he feel about this activity, new friend, outfit, etc, etc....I am not my own, in a very real sense.  And so too, with our union to Christ.  Because we are united with Him in our spirits, everything we do affects our relationship with God!  Every choice, every thought, every sin....it has bearing on our relationships with God.  Just the same, His perfection and grace have bearing on us:  we are able to access Him and find grace in every situation, most especially because He understands what we are going through:

Hebrews 4:15  (HCSB)

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.

My prayer for us today is that we would find deep joy in our union with Christ, and conviction to love Him passionately, knowing we are joined in our spirits, through the Holy Spirit!

Blessings,

Ruth

His Mercy Endures

This weekend I had the chance to reminisce a little as I wrote my latest article for Letters to My Sisters.  The topic this month is Mercy, and I couldn't help but think back to our wedding and the reading my dear bro Sam did on Psalm 136.  Here is the beginning of the article:  

^{Dear Sister,}

<sup>Just a few short months ago, my family, friends and now-beloved husband and I, sat in a small country church and participated, as my brother read Psalm 136 responsively.  We focused then on the translation reading ‘His love endures forever’, but the NKJV captures a different slant that reminds me of God’s unmerited favor to us in so many different situations.  
Read more here....


Have a blessed day
Ruth</sup>

For Dad...

      'Heard a famous author speaking on his 'Love Languages' yesterday...rung true.  We, my dad and I, speak different languages...me, with the emotional, relational, let-me-hear-your-heart language, and he, with the let-me-show-you-my-love language.  I inherited his thick wavy hair, his intense passion for God's Word, and his love for meeting people of all shapes, sizes, and stories...but our souls have different shapes.

He built the house we 8 children grew up in...designed it, broke his back laying the foundation, hoisting the frame, laying the shingles, and once it was built, made sure we all stayed quite warm in those cold Ohio winters.


He plowed the land and planted the seeds...both in my heart and in the fields...fruit came...joyful young girl that I was, picking the fruit trees and eating the beans and corn, my soul growing as well.

Grapevines from the Perry farm

Mom & Dad (and trees from the farm)

And now as God has pulled back the weeds and the flower of me has blossomed...Dad still serves...home-made gifts for the wedding, offers to help in the move to Florida.  And perhaps I will learn that language of service too...giving without asking, loving with a quiet strength.

The Perry family

We are all still learning...

This is the Gospel

It's been three weeks since I officially became the new Mrs. Fink.  Wonderful.  Challenging. Unexpected.  Grace.  Those are some words I think of when I think back on the past few weeks.  Today is Resurrection Sunday, the name that I prefer to give it, as many of you may also, and I'm thinking about the Gospel.  What the cross really means.  I've had a first-hand look at this over the past several weeks.  Coming to the end of myself, my resources, and there still is more....more grace, more love, more joy....things I never earned, but simply was given.  I see this in the way my family and friends poured out grace upon grace to help us throw the most spectacularly wonderful wedding weekend I could have asked for (or imagined...Ephesians!)  To have it all come off so beautifully, and know it was not because of my time, energy, or talent leaves me speechless and grateful.  I was so so joyful that day...and that is the one gift I had asked the Lord to give me, 'Lord please bless me with a heart full of joy on this day'...and I was overflowing.  I don't remember if I ever stopped smiling...but my face did hurt at the end of the night, ha ha.  And that doesn't even begin to speak of the wonderful week with my new husband in the mountains, or the time we have had setting up house together...learning, growing and loving it all.  I bring this up in the context of the Gospel, thinking of how I do not deserve this great grace given to me, but also thinking of some very particular incidents.  The joy of my whole family being together, as I had hoped.  The grace given when my words were not kind or gracious.  The resources that covered the costs.  All the talents used to make the day beautiful and memorable (mostly family and friends--not hired out!)  And I think of the way I interacted with a dear family member in their weakness...so short and unkind, angry even...I realize that this is what the Lord sees in my heart...He is patient with my weakness, and would have been in this situation, had He been in my skin that day.  And of course, let me not forget my sweet husband, who bears with me in my weaknesses so well,  looking over my faults, and not holding them against me.  God's Riches at Christ's Expense....GRACE....given to me every day, and especially in these last few weeks and months.  I think the best way to describe my life to a new friend is to simply say, 'I've been given much more than I deserve, and though I get it wrong so often, the grace never runs out'....Lord, help me live up to the high calling of what You did for us on the cross.  May our lives show that we are deeply grateful.    

Coming Home to Joy (Padraig the dragon & marriage...)

Hello friends, it's your long-lost blogging friend!  I am swamped planning the party of a lifetime, also known as a wedding...I see the final tasks being crossed off, as friends and family come into town to celebrate with us.  One of the tasks was updating my blog and book review page before life changes, and as I re-read the very sweet Dragon and the Turtle, by Paul & Denmark, I saw some sweet parallels to where I've been, where I am, and where I am going.  Padraig the dragon has been playing pirates, as any young adventurous dragon might do, and has flown off course.  He is wanting to get home, but can't find the way home alone, which brings his new friend, Roger the turtle into the picture.  Roger listens faithfully to Padraig, and they set out on a journey to find home, filled with adventure, new surprises, and a new friendship.  There are many life-lessons in this book for your favorite youngster, most especially the need to reach out to others despite our own needs (Roger is hungry and Padraig is hard to please)...  I find myself in the middle of the story, with a dear friend, my Jesus, always helping me along the journey, caring about my deepest needs and most detailed requests.  Padraig is remembering the smells and sounds of his home, and we all are looking to our Home Eternal.  He eventually does get home, and I find myself nearing the end of my journey to find 'home'...at least on this earth.  On Sunday the crazy journey of waiting for just the right man to create a home with will end, and the next adventure will begin.  I suspect, just like Padraig found in Roger, I will find my eternal Friend to be just as faithful in this new journey, as well as the many loving friends and family who have helped to guide my steps these past few years.  Joy is a state of mind, but I am choosing it more and more...and it certainly helps to be 'coming home'!  Regardless of what the journey holds, we can always choose joy.  

Habakkuk Rejoices in the LORD

 ¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, ¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. ¹⁹GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.

Friday Fun

Just a fun wedding update: the dress is in and it fits!  I am so excited and would love to post pictures of it here, but that just wouldn't be okay if my love got a sneak-preview too soon.  It is a fun story, however, that I just have to post.  You heard a little about my bad attitude in a previous post because the dress from China might be late?  Well, God had something up His sleeve for me, so to speak...Mom went scouring the shops for a back-up and the dress she found, as well as the dress from China arrived on the SAME day!  Didn't get a lot of sleep that night, needless to say...it was more important to try on dresses and chat with my sweetie on his birthday than get my zzz's...
But, it turns out that the dress my mother found without me even trying it on is PERFECT and I just love it!  So glad we thought the other one might be late so that Mom could find the winner!  It will be so fun to walk down the aisle in this beauty.  Thanks, Mom, and thank you Lord, for sending me the perfect dress with a fun story behind it, to boot!  He is blessing my socks off ~ R

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I was blessed this weekend with the humble, gentle, Christ-like presence of my mother.  Today she celebrates a life lived twice as long, and perhaps twice as well as mine.  I do hope to have the faith she has in 31 years.  Small things, and large things, made me remember again how blessed I am to call her my mother.  She has faithfully raised 8 children, teaching the Gospel through her life of few words.  In fact, I believe my mother has preached more sermons to me by the way she lives, than the words she says.  Although I would recommend listening closely when she does speak...out of her mouth flows wise counsel on relationships, healthy living, and the spiritual life, as well as constant encouragement.  She came to celebrate my upcoming marriage celebration and all the festivities preparing for that event requires; and although it was her day, when asked if she had any birthday wishes, her only wish was for the details of my big day to go well (um...how about that dress from China is going to be late?!)  She implored me to stop and pray and ask the Lord to work, because of course, "He is not surprised by this...."  And then after she prayed, (and I stubbornly pouted) with a tear in her eye  she encouraged me with the reminder that God possibly had something else in store for me..."Maybe even a better dress!"  Today I celebrate my mother.  I can't say how blessed I have been by her faithful prayers, hundreds of encouraging notes and emails, and delectable homemade goodies.  As I enter into marriage, I realize I am not half the woman she is, but I certainly have had an incredible model to take with me into every day and every situation.  Thank you, Mom, for being you, and for trusting God with everything (including having faith in ME, as I delight in the fact that 'He who began a good work in me, will complete it'....Hallelujah!)  What a blessing it is to have a godly mother.  Thank you, Lord.

Restful reflections...

It's Sunday, my favorite day...and my soul was able to breathe today, which made it a great Sunday!  I haven't been visiting you all here in a while, because life and wedding plans have been taking over...but it is all good.  I'm curious...what are your favorite wedding planning/engagement memories?  Any thoughts for a soon-to-be-bride?  Leave your comments...and enjoy the hours that remain of the weekend!  As a good friend says, I do not get to 'skip Monday'...so the day of rest is a must!  
Just as a side note...I wish you could have heard my Pastor preach today...who will soon be my husband...it was wonderfully convicting and encouraging all at the same time.  Hug all the little people you know, and celebrate the fact that their mothers brought them into the world, and did not choose death...over life.  Celebrate Sanctity of Life Sunday...and say a prayer for the many mothers who are deciding over this important issue as we speak.  God be with you--RP