I was reminded this week of the value of encouragement. I spoke to over 300 people about Learning Disabilities. My husband commented that the number was way above my comfort zone, and it was. But I knew I had something valuable to say and felt it was a great opportunity to be an advocate for children who cannot explain their problem is or tell how to help them. God has done so much in my life and much of it came through the loving encouragement of my husband and family. I wrote the following article in the late ‘80s. It’s as true today as it was then. I hope it blesses you.
Betrayal
Living and working cross culturally can bring out the best or the beast in us. Our topic for this month was about dealing with difficult co-workers. The topic is so broad that we are going to only touch on one aspect, betrayal. We first published this article in 1993, written by Mike Constantine.
Of the many trials and struggles that every worker faces, none brings more pain and perplexity than betrayal. There’s no better way to describe its effects than to look at David’s experience as it is recorded for us in the Book of Psalms:
“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God…My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.” Psalms 55: 12-14, 20, 21 NIV.
The Lie
This month’s Peter’s Wife is going to be a bit different than others. Although this doesn’t directly relate to living in a foreign culture, I believe there are some readers who are kept from doing their best work because they have been fettered by a lie. Or maybe you have a friend or family member who needs to hear how I was set free.
For several years my husband has been teaching about the importance of knowing the truth and being set free from the power of lies. About a year and a half ago one of our sons learned how recognizing the lies he was believing and replacing them with the truth could stop panic attacks. I had listened to all of this and thought a lot about it, but couldn’t see any lies I was believing.
Enjoy Marriage
It’s February, Valentine’s Day is around the corner. So this is a good time to think about ways to strengthen our marriage relationship. We are going to share some insights from Marriage Works! Seeds for growing a great marriage by Mike Constantine. In Marriage Works!, Mike describes the doldrums marriage can slip into.
“In some parts of the American west, and in most of the Australian outback, you can drive almost forever, on perfectly straight roads, through a featureless landscape. Nothing unexpected, nothing interesting, nothing but you, the car, and the long, long road. After a few hundred kilometers you start craving something, anything different and exciting.
Grief
Grief. We don’t choose it, but we will all have to face it. Two precious PWs have recently shared their experiences of grief with me. I want to pass on some of what they wrote and lessons we can all learn from them.
Louise lost her son, Jedediah, on Christmas Eve just 52 days after his birth. She said,” When I had slept through the night and I woke at the first light, I knew. I knew that something was horribly wrong. I went to his bed and he was not there; only his shell remained. My son had gone on before me. I felt that I had abandoned my baby. My intellect would tell my heart that this was not true. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) deaths happen all over the world, living in Mongolia had nothing to do with it. Jed was healthy. He had a full checkup by an American doctor just a week before he died. Still, my heart was not listening. When a blow this devastating comes to a heart, it shuts down