"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. 

Take this cup from me. 

Yet not what I will, but what you will."

Mark 14:36

A house is built with boards and beams, A home is built with love and dreams

"Walk into her house and a showcase living room quickly commands your attention. Ornate, expensive furniture populates rooms tastefully embellished with understated artwork. A lavish floral arrangement adorns a perfectly lit breakfast nook. 

But no one ever sits on the furniture. The flower-shaped soaps in the soap dish never clean anyone’s hands; the towels in the kitchen and bathroom don’t dry anything." ... our daily journey

My home is not decorated with ornate, expensive furniture; but it is decorated tastefully and I do take pride in keeping it looking like a showcase.

But what hit me is this - would I mind it being messy, dirty and maybe even have some things broken if it means providing hospitality to others? Would I mind my privacy gone, my space intruded, my world no longer perfect, my self taken for granted if it means bringing happiness to someone in need? If it means providing hospitality to others even at our inconvenience? And what happens when that person starts thinking its their house or when their politeness wears off or when it starts to affect my marriage?
Am I willing to die to self? For my husband and kid, yeah. Hands down. But beyond that?

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 

The fact is, I am not. I am not willing to die to self for my in laws and I know it. But for my husband? I am. So for his family? I should be also... right?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24.

He has kept to His word, as always. I feel His favour on our lives, and I do think we have been rewarded, at least in part, for what we've been putting up with, for what we've done. I often feel no one knows the sacrifices we make, the struggles we go through but I am wrong. God knows, and He's merciful and just. He has met our every need, and though we question situations in our lives that He permits, we also know that the strength will be provided, and that if we can't carry on, He will carry us.