Through the Lens of Faith

Let’s face it, a person can choose to live an optimistic, joyous life, having a smile on their countenance, and being contagious to everyone around them with an uplifting spirit or they can choose not to.

I know a woman that sees the world through the lens of faith and lives every day with a positive outlook on life, similar to rose-colored glasses.  She reminds me of her mother, which was a Godly woman of faith and a prayer warrior.  I am sure she was the apple of God’s eye.

It goes without saying that people like this walk in God’s strength and give Him the glory for each victory that comes in the name of Jesus.  Such a person is my wife, Katie.  She is the best thing that ever happened to me in my lifetime.

Katie is my helpmate in every sense of the word.  She loves me and I love her.   God must have loved me a great deal to bless me with such a giving person.  She is a wonderful mother to our three children and extra special Nana to our six grandchildren.

Her personality is explained in two words, Loving and Kind.  Katie would never intentionally say or do anything to offend or hurt another person in any way.

In a world that is full of anger, frustration, and expressing the “Me” syndrome everywhere you look, it is refreshing and truly saying something when you can look at a person and say, “She’s real and not a phony.”

Katie is who she is.  She doesn’t have to put on a fake façade or pretense, because she is a sincere woman of God.  She considers others before herself to a point that I sometimes catch myself taking up an offensive in her behalf.  I don’t want people to take advantage of her goodness, but she takes everything in stride and knows that God is her vindicator.

I began this writing using the word optimistic.  The opposite to this word is pessimistic.  There in-lies my personality.  Katie and I are total opposites, at opposing ends of the spectrum on the personality graph.

Yes, I walk in faith, but it sometimes takes me a while to totally surrender situations to the Lord, but I am getting better at raising my hands and surrendering my will to His.  I am a man that endeavors to see every angle and critique a situation, having all the facts before making decisions.  No doubt, I am analytical.

My kids and their spouses might say that I can dig in my heals pretty deep until God tells me to move if that is what He wants.  It’s not a bad thing; I am who I am.  God deals with me and every person individually.   He knows me, because He created my personality.

God uses different methodologies with me than He does with my wife.  Perhaps you have a similar personality to mine.  I am not a pushover in any sense of the word, but this is where an optimistic type of personality, like my wife, is used by God to blend patience and humility with my pessimistic way of thinking and handling things.

Katie assists God in soothing my Type-A personality to accomplish common goals in our household and the work of the Lord.  I am not weak, but I am striving to become meeker. 

God in His omniscient knowledge of things knew that I needed a helpmate to help Him level me out at times, which I truly believe has happened since we’ve been married these 53 years.

Am I the head of my household in the way God intended me to be?  I hope so.  I am learning how to do things in a calmer, more long-suffering way, while staying sensitive to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to lead rather than me taking the reins and going off halfcocked in the wrong direction.

Trusting God to lead takes time to learn, but He is patient.  I am learning to be a willing student that listens to my teacher’s voice—the Holy Spirit.  This comes with practice by opening my spiritual ears.

They say opposites attract.  I believe my wife’s weaknesses are my strong points and my weaknesses are my wife’s strong points.  We complement each other as God would have it.  We see through the lens of faith together, as we strengthen each other’s personality.  The Lord does all things well.

I must say that God did a great job in bringing us together, and yes, Katie would say likewise.  We are happy, because Jesus is the common denominator in our marriage.

Are you struggling to find compatibility, stability, or transparency in your relationship?  Put God first and personalities will begin to blend, and the riffs of life will level out as you and your better half lay them at the feet of Jesus.

The three of you will certainly work things out and see through the lens of faith together.  I do not believe in 50/50 relationships.  We must be willing to give 100% and receive 100% from the other party.  It takes working at it on both ends of the spectrum.  It cannot be a one-sided affair.  I’ve heard that it takes “Two to Tango.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd