"I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence
of God's commitment to my dying;
and I must seize upon every God-given opportunity
to be conformed more fully to Christ death,
no matter the pain involved.
When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing,
I must die.
When called to do something I don't want to do,
I must die.
When I wish to be selfish and serve no one,
I must die.
When shattered by hardships that I despise,
I must die.
When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me,
I must die.
When enticed by allurements of the world,
I must die.
When wishing to keep besetting sins secret,
I must die.
When wants that are borderline needs are left on met,
I must die.
When dreams that are good seemed shoved aside,
I must die.
...preaching His story to myself each day
puts me in a frame of mind to trust God
and embrace the cross of my own dying also."
[m. vincent | a gospel primer]
Motherhood, unlike any other season in my life, has convinced me that God is committed to the dying of self. After a very long and sleepless night, this truth has served me well - I must die. And in dying gain a life lived for Him! What a compassionate Father to give the gift of my family and root out selfishness in me!
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." [Galatians 2:20]
