A House Divided

Think back to life when you were growing up. Was home a peaceful, warm and safe place? Was there turmoil and conflict? Our upbringings and childhood experiences shape the adults we become and the choices we make. Our histories often ripple into our own parenting and our own homes. And our children will be either blessed or challenged by that. With 3 young children, I am in the full swing of motherhood. Every day I am faced with my own shortcomings and struggles, because they surface in both my parenting and my marriage. The peaceful, safe environment I so desire to give my family is often rather chaotic and conflicted. Parenting is hard. Marriage is hard. Yet Jesus points out a hard truth, found in Mark chapter 3:

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to last.

Mark 3:24-25

Conflicts happen, fights break out, harsh words are spoken and regrets are inevitable. But we need to remember the importance of unity within a home.  

"Do not let the sun go down on your anger." - Ephesians 4:26b

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, 

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:32

It is our duty to take responsibility for the condition of our homes, no matter what our upbringings may have looked like. Whether in the midst of raising children, empty-nesters, married, single or widowed, please hear me...God does not require us to make Him our family's foundation. But that decision will either make or break everything we build upon.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." - Matthew 7:24-27

I don't know about you, but I'll take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand! May God bless our families this week, and may we consciously reflect the Lord in our interactions with one another.