From Michelle Haswell. You will also enjoy Michelle's last post, "He Shouts Restore over Our Lives."
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Refresh
We all go through seasons where we find ourselves in need of being refreshed due to the demands that life places on us. In those times I have found that the only true and deep refreshing comes from the Lord Himself. This understanding is born out in various scriptures throughout the Bible.
Psalm 23:3 "He refreshes my soul"
Jeremiah 31: 25 "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint" ( such a beautiful promise)
Philemon 1:7 "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you brother have refreshed the hearts of God's people"
2 Corinthians 7:13 "We were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you"
It is clear that one of the ways God intends to refresh our souls is through one another. A good question to ask ourselves is "who does this for me?". Amidst all the needs of parenting, make sure there are people in your life who refresh your soul! For me these are deeply valuable and very necessary relationships.
Restore
The scriptures tell us that the Lord shouts 'Restore' over our lives. Sometimes we need more than refreshing, where we have suffered loss we long to have areas of lives reinstated to their former condition. God can take care of these needs as well.
When we choose to become parents through adoption or biologically there are many things that we give up, some go without saying but I believe there are some places the Lord wants to restore back to us. Among these are: peace at home, intimacy in marriage, who God called you to be (sometimes as parents we can feel as if we have lost a part of who we are), financial stability, to name a few. God is great at the restoration of lives and He loves doing it.
Psalm 14:7 "When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad."
Jeremiah 30:7 "I will restore you to health and heal your wounds"
Rebuild
Sadly there are situations in life that have the potential to cause great damage to us emotionally, like rebellious children, abusive marriages, or financial collapse.
The good news is that our heavenly Father is in the business of not only refreshing and restoring but also rebuilding the broken places. As I mentioned in a previous blog, when my husband and I lost triplets who were born prematurely, we found ourselves in need of some serious emotional and spiritual repair. I'm so thankful to the Lord for the rebuilding and strengthening in our lives through His faithful love.
Jeremiah 33:7 "I will bring back Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before"
Amos 9:14 "I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit" (He not only promises to rebuild the ruined places but also promises us great fruitfulness)
Parenting always requires sacrifice so that others may live. Our greatest example of this is Jesus' own sacrifice on the cross. He gave up His dignity, His position, His life so that we can have eternal life. I believe that along with the daily sacrifices we make and the things that we give up because we love our children, there are also places in our lives that the Lord longs to refresh, restore or even rebuild if we will allow Him to do so.
Jesus loves us with a great and abiding love that surpasses knowledge. He is the kindest person you will ever meet. I encourage you to ask Him for refreshing, restoration or rebuilding for your life.
