This is my family. Mom and Dad, seven siblings, three spouses, and three grand-kids.
My dad is the old white guy. My husband is the tall black one. Tomorrow they will be getting up in the morning and will head out together and hit up all of the local yard sales and garage sales they can find. This has become their Friday morning tradition.
My dad has loved and raised three black children and is helping spoil three grandchildren rotten – two who are biracial and one who is white.
My husband calls my mom, “Mom” and can frequently be found hanging out with his blue eyed, country born and raised brothers-in-law or holding his new baby niece whose skin is so fair that if you kiss her too hard she turns pink.
There was a time in my life when my dad and I got into screaming matches because he did not like the fact that I was hanging out with black people, and there was a time when my husband was militantly pro-black. I got the “I’ve got black friends but I don’t want my daughter dating one 'of them'” talk. And I’ve heard it told that 20 years ago my husband would’ve told you that all white people were out to oppress black people.
I could write pages about why I think each of them used to feel the way they did. I could write another hundred pages about why those views were wrong. But that’s not what this post is about. This is a Philippians 4:8 post (And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise).
People who you think would never change can. People who have no desire to change do. People who you dislike can become very likable. People who do not believe can become the most passionate of believers, and people whose hearts are hard can have their hearts softened and reshaped into better ones.
Don’t lose heart. Whether it’s you or someone else you know, people CAN and DO change all of the time. My family is a testament to the power of the gospel that changes lives - not just where people will spend eternity, but how they spend their lives here on earth.
Love God. Love each other. Everything else will fall into place.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26
My dad is the old white guy. My husband is the tall black one. Tomorrow they will be getting up in the morning and will head out together and hit up all of the local yard sales and garage sales they can find. This has become their Friday morning tradition.
My dad has loved and raised three black children and is helping spoil three grandchildren rotten – two who are biracial and one who is white.
My husband calls my mom, “Mom” and can frequently be found hanging out with his blue eyed, country born and raised brothers-in-law or holding his new baby niece whose skin is so fair that if you kiss her too hard she turns pink.
There was a time in my life when my dad and I got into screaming matches because he did not like the fact that I was hanging out with black people, and there was a time when my husband was militantly pro-black. I got the “I’ve got black friends but I don’t want my daughter dating one 'of them'” talk. And I’ve heard it told that 20 years ago my husband would’ve told you that all white people were out to oppress black people.
I could write pages about why I think each of them used to feel the way they did. I could write another hundred pages about why those views were wrong. But that’s not what this post is about. This is a Philippians 4:8 post (And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise).
People who you think would never change can. People who have no desire to change do. People who you dislike can become very likable. People who do not believe can become the most passionate of believers, and people whose hearts are hard can have their hearts softened and reshaped into better ones.
Don’t lose heart. Whether it’s you or someone else you know, people CAN and DO change all of the time. My family is a testament to the power of the gospel that changes lives - not just where people will spend eternity, but how they spend their lives here on earth.
Love God. Love each other. Everything else will fall into place.
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26
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