Daily Devotion - Monday - November 2

I was born to two wonderful, but broken, people. My father was an alcoholic. When he was sober he was the smartest and one of the most tender men I've ever known. My mother was a Christian and loved God and tried to raise us to do this, but because of the chaos and dysfunction in our home, it just didn't stick for me. I was taught without being told that there are some things you do not share- namely what was happening in our home behind closed doors. I protected our family by asking for prayer "for a friend" whose dad was angry and hurtful all the time. How no one knew the little girl going to the altar WEEKLY with those needs for others was the one in need, I'll never understand. However, no one did and this continued all of my childhood. Not surprisingly, as a teen/young woman, I rebelled and dated a guy who was not the best fit and had some drug and alcohol issues, but did not display the redeeming qualities that my dad did. I became pregnant at 18 with my first greatest gift. I was sure that I wanted the baby, but also doubly sure that the man who fathered him was not good for either of us. Thank God it was mutual and he moved on for me and my son to live in peace. Years passed, and God brought a wonderful man into our lives. I'm grateful every day that God saw fit to bless us with him. We went on to have two other sons who have blessed our lives immensely. We have raised our children, not perfectly, but definitely with keen awareness that we need not continue our parent's mistakes and patterns. We do the best we can with what we have and know at the time. We never talked about anger toward our upbringing, but a definite desire to change patterns. With God in charge, He has broken generational strongholds in our family. The teenage girl who learned to hold secrets has become a mental health professional who is a safe place for secrets to land. She has a healing spirit because of what she has been through. God has redeemed the pain and has used it for good. By God's grace, we have created a safe family and one that loves one another, but also calls each other out on things that we are concerned for. I am so grateful for God's intervention in my life.
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You planned something bad for me, but God produced something good from it, in order to save the lives of many people, just as he’s doing today. Genesis 50:20 CEB
Meghan DeGregory