Stories of Faith: My Joseph
This family. This momma. This story.
Myra Penn, I do not even have the words.
You are such a picture of what a true Proverbs 31 woman looks like. You have blessed so many with so much love that it is impossible to even begin. Thank you for your example, for your love, for your encouragement, for your time that you take to invest in so many!
You really are one of a kind.
And Mr. Michael... well I will let your precious lady's words speak to who you are!
Here is their story >> not the one we expected but for sure the one that the Lord had planned!
At church this past Sunday the pastor was preaching on “Stable Seekers”. The message focused on the life of Joseph and his part in the birth of Christ. God chose a craftsman to be the father of Jesus. Some might describe him as a righteous man with a quiet leadership. The announcement of Mary being with child had to be the biggest disappointment in his life. God chose this humble man for His purpose and His plan. God comforted Joseph with the presence of an angel who spoke truth to lead Joseph. The passage was taken from Matthew 1:18-25.
During the sermon, my attention was brought to the man sitting beside me who has sat beside me for 32 years now. During the sermon he winked at me. This man is the one God has truly blessed me with, and I know he is my Joseph - the one the Lord brought to me to show me unconditional love. The quiet leader who I thought would never be able to love me as much as I loved him.
I often laugh at how conditional wives can be with our expectations of love. This man is a man like Joseph, one who has been hurt and disappointed in one of life’s most difficult journeys. My pastor said how you face life’s disappointments will matter most. “It’s not the reality of disappointment, but our reaction to our disappointment that affects our life the most,” he explained. I can tell you that my husband, the one who I may think does not love me as much as I love him, is the one who truly walked this out to God’s fullest respect and unconditional love. When a man receives a call from his wife to let him know she has been in a car wreck and that their youngest daughter has joined Christ, I can’t even imagine how I would have handled this, much less my husband. It was evident that God, through the Holy Spirit, had already prepared my husband for this phone call. That day I knew his love was deeper than I had ever known. He was much stronger than I ever expected which was a total gift of God’s love. The way he responded was totally God-given. It was without question the greatest love I have ever experienced.
His response reminds me of Joseph dealing with one of life’s most difficult situations which made a huge impact on our future. My husband protected me like Joseph and never accused me for my mistake. There was no anger, and he never lashed out or shut down. He simply loved me with the unconditional love of Christ. In his pain, he chose to save the love of his family. He chose God’s way of unconditional love. He gave it to God, took one step at a time, and always showed love. During this season of life, the Lord taught me that we have two sets of eyes. One set is our humanistic way of seeing things and the other set is the Lord’s way of seeing things. Looking through life through His eyes is totally different and more meaningful. Trusting in Him will refine your disappointments in life. Thank you God for my husband. Thank you for allowing him to bring love into one of life’s greatest disappointments. Looking through God’s eyes in your disappointments can change life into a beautiful purpose. Who knows, you may have a Joseph like me named Michael. You might not even recognize it until you have a disappointment. He might even wink at you when you’re not expecting it. God bless you all.
- Myra Penn
