How many of you get the Life Lines? There was an article in this last publication (Sept./Oct.) that really blessed my heart, even though it was written to husbands. It helped strengthen my resolve, and gave me reason to hope for better days with my devotions!
I think all husbands/fathers with young children in the family should read this, so feel free to share with your husband! =]
For those of you who don't receive this paper, I'm sharing with you today:
Your Wife's Personal Devotions So you have three preschool children. Your wife gets up two or three times a night for the baby and tries to snatch a little extra sleep before she gets out of bed in the morning. Sometimes she gets time to talk to the LORD before breakfast, but as often as not, it is after breakfast. Do you ever ask her how it goes?
Perhaps she would tell you she tries to read the Bible and pray while she is nursing the baby, but reading is awkward. Besides, she constantly has to answer questions from the other children, settle squabbles, and keep a general eye on things. What is more, so much has to be done---washing an extra load of clothes for the weekend, baking bread, cleaning, making yet another scrapbook page. Everything seems to shout for her attention.
Evening devotions might be no better. True, the children are in bed, hopefully to fall asleep without needing another drink or having their teddy fall out of bed. But now, exhaustion sets in. And it is a pretty sure guess that many a wife wonders as she finally gets into bed what the Lord thought of her foggy mind as her lips said "thank you" and "please bless".
What the Lord thinks, after all, is a very good question. If she does not spend half an hour of uninterrupted time with the Lord what kind of a Christian does God think she is? If she must always rush about without taking as much time as she wishes for the most important things, does God think she is giving her children anything worth living for?
By the way, how did women in the Bible do it? Mary, the mother of Jesus, for example, had five boys and a number of girls to raise without the benefit of an automatic washer and dryer. When did she ever spend time with the Lord?
The Bible does not say how to go about it. In fat, it is oddly silent on the matter of spending a stipulated amount of time every day in private devotions. We do read the Bible and pray every day, of course, just as we give thanks before our meals and sometimes return thanks afterwards, even though the Bible never said, "Thou shalt." But the fact that the Bible talks so little about private devotions in specific terms should give us at least part of the answer to our dilemma. It appears God does not want us to hang too heavily on a set practice---so heavily that we think, "Today I've had my prescribed number of minutes in private devotions; the Lord will bless me today" Or, "Today I was five minutes short; I don't feel like a very good Christian."
Bible reading and prayer is a Christian's food and drink, certainly. But it is interesting that we do not weigh our food and drink and have the exact amount every day. Some days we eat more. Some days we eat less. If there is illness or an accident, we might not eat at all, and what we have eaten beforehand tides us over. Although we much prefer three regular meals a day, sometimes we eat on the run. God allows emergencies to teach us that "Man shall not live by bread alone." In the same way, He might want to teach us that "man shall not live by private devotions alone."
There are different ways to cultivate a friendship with the Lord. When you and your wife were dating, you found much time just to sit and talk. No doubt it is different now. The days are spinning by. You are both busy. Yet, is it not true that somehow you and your wife love each other more than ever? You find moments here and there to smile above the children's heads, or to say, "How thoughtful of you!" or to talk a little just before going to bed. It is not that you no longer care to spend time together alone. But you snatch that time when you can, and those moments are all the more precious because of it.
It is hard to say what kind of "quiet time" Jesus' mother had. If she had to jump up four times during a meal for the sake of a bib or a washcloth, and if she got five or six hours' sleep a night, as some of our mothers do, surely the Lord understood if she could not find a solid block of time for prayer. However, the Bible does say, "Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Consciously or half consciously as she swept the floor and kissed skinned knees, she often thought of her motherly experiences, wondered about them, and no doubt prayed about them.
Who, after all, has a better chance to learn of God than a busy mother? She lives out what God is like every day. She can feel with the heavenly Father when her children get sick. Like Him, she practices patience. Like Him, she gives more than what she gets. All this can draw her close to the Lord.
In summary, your wife's personal devotions are a supplement to her spiritual life, not the only thing on which her spiritual life depends. Your wife, if frustrated, might appreciate knowing that you believe this.
Having said all this, we should still ask ourselves the question: Is my wife getting what she ought to get? Would I be satisfied with only the amount of time with the Lord that she enjoys? Paul, in Ephesians 5:28, said, " So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies." Do not take what you have read above to mean that anyone should live on a spiritual starvation diet.
Maybe you should ask your wife to lend you less of a hand with your chores and find some ways to give her a hand instead. It might be helpful to read to the children sometimes to keep them out of the busy kitchen. Try encouraging your wife to cook time-saving suppers. Tell her that some projects she wants to help with--including church projects--can wait until your children are a little older. after all, she is already doing the most important job in the world. Saving time in ways like these can help her relax and enjoy her time with the Lord.
Remember, "He that loveth his wife loveth himself." You need a spiritual companion. Of course, you do not expect your wife to lose her love for the Lord. If you think what a calamity that would be to you, you will want to do all you can to help her keep from losing any of that love.
Reprinted by permission from the Christian Contender.
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