{"id":368,"date":"2018-12-18T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T17:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/the-invitation-read-bring-spouses\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:16:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:16:01","slug":"the-invitation-read-bring-spouses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=368","title":{"rendered":"The Invitation Read: Bring Spouses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last week, in a group text message, I was invited to a Christmas Party and the invitation read: \u201cBring Spouses\u201d. Immediately a \u201clittle\u201d pang hit my heart and I replied: \u201cI wish!\u201d Soon the \u201csingles\u201d started texting me love and stated, \u201cWe\u2019ll have a \u2018single for now\u2019 section!\u201d LOL! I was really being facetious because, with God’s grace, I\u2019ve adapted well to my “single\u201d status. <\/p>\n

Yes, \u201cSingle\u201d is the box I check in \u201cMarital Status\u201d now if it doesn\u2019t have a box \u201cWidow(er)\u201d to check. These photos are of the last Christmas we had with my Sweetheart, my children\u2019s dad, and my grandchildren\u2019s Papa, Christmas 2009. Then, I checked the \u201cMarried\u201d box. Honestly, I\u2019d trade every Christmas present for the rest of my life for 5 more minutes with my Ron on this side of heaven. I\u2019d snuggle in to tell him everything he meant to me in those 5 minutes. My encouragement to you, whether you bear the \u201csingle\u201d OR \u201cmarried\u201d status, is to value what’s really important and convey the words of what your loved ones mean to you, cherish them with all your heart because it’s not what comes under the tree that counts.” Comfort and joy are ours when we embrace it.<\/p>\n

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I often speak or write about the seasons in our lives. We ebb and flow our way through the years, never feeling like we are always weak, always strong, always tired, always victorious. Sometimes we stand tall and we fight. Sometimes we go dormant and we rest. Sometimes we reflect and grow. We don\u2019t have to be \u201con\u201d every single day of our lives. But, dear friends, we should never believe when we\u2019re down, we are destined to stay there. Life will ebb and flow and our seasons will change. The season of being a couple and bringing my spouse with me to an event has changed, but you know what? I changed too! I was willing to change and in this season, I\u2019m embracing the change. I sit with my single friends, laugh and celebrate life with them. But I also sit with my married friends (some of whom are my closest friends), hang out with them, and even travel with my married friends. I\u2019m not defined by my marital status and neither should you be. Perhaps being defined by our relationship status with our Lord, is the status that matters the most because, in Him, we are complete. <\/p>\n

Yes, Christmas is so much more than all the tree and food trimmings, the gift giving and the holiday parties and programs. The original Christmas story was also about seasons. A savior was born into the world \u2013 with hope for all mankind — only to grow up and face rejection, betrayal, and death. All that we go through, He\u2019s been through. Our hurt and our joy, He knows it. After enduring death on the cross and three days in the grave, our hope rose again. <\/p>\n

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Those of you who are hurting deeply this holiday season, I am so sorry, and I pray in the midst of your pain, you\u2019ll find many moments of hope and joy. Make the moments count with loved ones. Turn your sadness into gratitude for those in your life, still on this side of heaven. Give them the gift of you putting on a “garment of praise” instead of having a spirit of heaviness. Let’s be full of joy and resolute determination to be “present” with them. What a wonderful gift to give those around us when we can offer “sacrifices” of joy in the midst of this season. We might find them in the beauty of a Christmas tree that lights a darkened room or in the kitchen with our kids or grandkids icing cookies. Maybe we\u2019ll experience a moment of satisfaction enjoying a meal and conversation with loved ones. We may even feel a glimmer of hope at the sound of Christmas carols, the warmth of a fire, or the sight of our children unwrapping gifts. It\u2019s tender moments like these that will sustain us.<\/p>\n

And next year, when we\u2019re in a new season, we\u2019ll look back and say, “That pain almost did me in, but because of God’s grace there were moments where I saw Him. Those glimpses of joy reminded me of what life could be. It\u2019s because of those moments that I not only survived but thrived. Don’t let pain rob you of God\u2019s small graces and tender hugs and embraces. Keep your heart settled on the good news of comfort and joy!<\/p>\n

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Last week, in a group text message, I was invited to a Christmas Party and the invitation read: \u201cBring Spouses\u201d. Immediately a \u201clittle\u201d pang hit my heart and I replied: \u201cI wish!\u201d Soon the \u201csingles\u201d started texting me love and stated, \u201cWe\u2019ll have a \u2018single for now\u2019 section!\u201d LOL! I was really being facetious because,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[567,251,568,569,570,571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bring-spouses","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-is-so-much-more","tag-ebb-and-flow","tag-gifts","tag-grinch","tag-invitation","tag-marital-status","tag-married","tag-relationship","tag-seasons","tag-single","tag-widow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8929,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions\/8929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}