Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day (Tuesday 05/31/2011)

Today’s Devotional Written By A Young Woman Changing Lives One Family At A Time: Mrs. Tracy Dixon (Shane’s Wife and The Mother Of His Lil One)

Speak or Repeat

Ephesians 4:14-15 (New Living Translation)

 ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

These past few weeks have been filled with many highs and lows. I’ve have some great victories, and I’ve taken some great blows. I had a conversation with a family member this past weekend that saddened my soul. When God had told me that I’d be one of few that would be different, I had no idea what was truly going to be in front of me.

The conversation started off pretty normal. My viewpoint was aired and then they gave commentary about the things I had said. Well, after about twenty minutes I realized two very important things. One was that nothing I had said was actually listened to, the words were heard but the meaning was not received. Secondly, I no longer felt the need to defend myself, my actions, or my God. I didn’t feel I needed to prove my side of things, because the jury had already pre-selected the verdict and nothing but more drama was going to come out of this moment.

So I just sat there and listened. I listened to the accusations, the lies, the untruths, the misunderstandings and the language and I said to myself, thank you God for choosing me. Thank you for allowing me to know you enough, to be changed, even though I still got a ways to go. Thank you for letting me break the cycle. In my family we have so many secrets and suppressed junk that now it’s coming out in alcoholism, drug use, child neglect, manipulation and so much more. The problem is not even the problems, it’s the denial and cover up of the problems. Everyone wants to go to church, but no one wants to have church live on the inside. We all want to act as if the past is in the past and that it is not having any effect on our future.

We ladies have followed in the footsteps of our women models: marrying the wrong men, staying in abusive relationships, settling for less than we deserve and having babies out of wedlock. Young men are following in the footsteps of the male examples before them: having babies by multiple women, turning away from their responsibilities and drinking/doing drugs as a recreation activity. Just because the generation before did it doesn’t make it right. And if you recognize your childhood was jacked up, why would you choose to continue the cycle. We are scared to tell the truth, and our secrets are starting to become exposed. I boldly declared that the cycle has stopped in my home, despite what people may try to speak. Divorce is no longer an option, and my children are MY priority. I’m so proud to see my cousins taking a stand: getting married, settling down, raising their kids, going to school, working hard and trying to save the next generation. One house at a time, and we will change the world. People always say what you don’t defeat, you will repeat. But the same is true: what you don’t speak, someone else will repeat. Your rape, your molestation, your abuse, your pain, your scars, your secrets……….won’t end with you staying silent. The pain, hurt, shame, guilt, and/or fear carries