Christmas as a Divorced Dad

First Christmas as a divorced Dad12/24/2014
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First Christmas as a Divorced Dad 

As I sit here tonight for my first Christmas being divorced and the girls are with their mom I have been thinking about a lot of things.  This Christmas has been really different and I have learned a lot about myself during this time. Even though in the past I went shopping with their mom to by their Christmas gifts and I enjoyed watching them open the gifts I still lost the part of giving. This year as I went shopping as a divorced father I thought how selfish and self-centered I was at times during Christmas. This year as I have went shopping to purchase their gifts I really focused on them and what they wanted and not myself. God spoke to me many times during this process about its not about you it’s about others. As I was wrapping their gifts I was so excited about watching them open them and for them to see what they got. Not that I was not excited in the past it’s just different. God has taught me so much during this time of difficulty.  I believe God uses these times like this to really teach us about ourselves. 

Today, it's all about me. Okay and you. Isn't that was selfishness is? Putting the spotlight on ourselves and being consumed by it. When we think about emotional bondage, many times we experience depression, anxiety, loneliness and so on because of past or current circumstances. These unhealthy emotions may not have been triggered by our selfish desires but holding onto them instead of giving them to the Lord borderlines on selfishness.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24

As Christians, we are supposed to be like Christ. We are supposed to be selfless. As our Lord and Saviour graciously became the sacrifice for us, His mind was on what would benefit His children. His mind was on love. As humans, we tend to hold onto the emotions that we are supposed to let go because we have not learned to love right. Or trust right. When we love the way God loves and we trust in Him, we are able to let go of our selfishness and embrace freedom.

"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." Psalm 29:2

Selfishness is usually wrapped up like a pretty present but when opened, only destruction lies. It looks appealing and feels good. When we take, hoard, keep instead of give, purge and bless. Being selfish in our ways actually steals the glory away from God! How can He be glorified in your life if you are in the spotlight? How can we be free from unhealthy emotional bondage if we only look at ourselves and not the One who truly delivers?
"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." Isaiah 42:8

No matter how hard we try, we cannot change God's mind. He has stated in His Word that He will not give His glory to another. Yet, we in turn are so self-consumed, that spiritually we steal the show and expect Him to perform for us. We are looking inwardly to benefit our desires and justify our emotional bondage, that we are blind to an outward God who provides all the benefits we shall ever need!

Think about your daily priorities. Do you put what you want to do in front of what God wants you to do? Have you asked Him what we wants? Think about your relationships. Are you constantly being offended? Are you always dissatisfied? Many times selfishness comes in the form of pain. If we've been wounded, we automatically play the blame game instead of analyzing our motives and actions. Maybe it was our selfishness that triggered the offense.
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