My husband has really been passionately pursuing a vision for our family.  We have taken and taught a class in the past called Family ID.  It is wonderful and we plan on teaching it again in the fall!  It is all about doing your family on purpose, creating a vision for you family, and being intentional with the family God has blessed you with.  So, part of our summer Bible study has been devoted to listening to God through His Word with what He wants our family to become.  We figured what better place to start than with Abraham.  We began in Genesis 12 and will continue through Genesis 25.  It is amazing what I have learned through God's Word in regard to the character of Abraham and his family and how that can be applied to my life.

Today I was reading Genesis 16, the story of Sarai (soon to be Sarah), Abram's wife, giving him Hagar, her servant, to bare him a child.  Sarai was unable to have children.  God had spoken to Abram (soon to be Abraham) and told him his descendants would number the stars.  But Sarai was barren and God didn't say that the descendants would come from her, and it was normal cultural practice to give servants during that time to your husband to have children.  Those children would then be treated like they were from the wife and would be able to be heirs.  So, I can imagine Sarai's thought process, "I want my husband to be able to have all these descendants that God has promised him.  I don't want to stand in the way of God's blessing."  So, she decided to take matters into her own hands, take control of the situation, and fix this problem herself.  (Oh boy, starting to sound familiar!)  Of course, things start going down hill.  Sarai gets mad and jealous.  Her human nature kicks in and even blames the whole situation on Abram, "The Sarai said to Abram, 'This is all your fault!  I put my servant into your arms, but now that she's pregnant she treats me with contempt.  The Lord will show who's wrong-you or me!".  Hagar starts treating Sarai rudely, and Abram just wants nothing to do with the whole situation (who could blame him!).  But just think, if Sarai would have just waited on God how much heart ache could have been avoided.  If instead of trying to fix the problem herself, what if she took it to God first?  What if I did this in my own life?

I am a self proclaimed control freak.  I like to know all the details, I like to know what is coming next, and when it is going to happen.  (This is reflected in my last post about planning out our days of the week for the summer.)  This has always been a part of me.  Nearly a decade ago I just knew my husband was going to propose any day...and it was KILLING ME!!!  My need for control over that situation was in overdrive.  So I constantly prayed this verse, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~Philippians 4:6  Unfortunately, I can not say that I have always been so great with letting go of control of situations.  Five years ago, we moved from southern California to Oklahoma, not because God was calling us, but because I WANTED or even thought I NEEDED to move.  I did not have an easy road to walk once we got to Oklahoma.  And looking back I know that if I had just waited on God and spent time seeking Him, I could have saved myself and my family a lot of heart ache.

But this story isn't over there.  Sarai messed up.  I mess up EVERYDAY.  But our God is so full of mercy!  I haven't read it yet, but I know the end of Sarai's story.  God blesses her with something she didn't even imagine possible...a son.  And although, I don't know the end of my story, I know that God has already blessed my socks off.  We serve a truly merciful and faithful God!