COMMIT
The word for Day 27 of #write28days is commit. The first thing that comes to mind are the commitments in my life including relationships, work, artistic pursuits and more.
As I have stated in a recent post, my relationship with God is the foundation of how I live in every area of life. Above all, it is the basis for the other relationships and interests I pursue. Therein lies my strength, freedom and the courage to follow through.
Commitment in Marriage
Before our marriage, Steve and I made a commitment to God and to each other. We knew there would probably be struggles ahead and we wouldn’t always agree on everything. Sure, we were in love and at the time we couldn’t imagine ever having problems.
[bctt tweet=”We also realized we were only human and there were bound to be some differences. ” username=”GaylWright”]
If our marriage was based just on how we felt, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be enough to hold it together in hard times. But, because we put God at the head of our marriage, we determined nothing would ever break us up.
(I want to put a disclaimer here. In no way do I advise someone to stay in an abusive relationship. I am talking about problems that come up because of selfishness or misunderstanding, etc. If any doubts I would urge you to get help.)
God has been faithful through the years, enabling us to work through difficult times and times of disagreement. He has always provided for our needs. And though there have been times of anger, hurt and disappointment, we never doubted the love God has given us for each other and for Him.

Commitment in Other Areas
Yesterday I wrote about the need for pruning in my life. One thing was the need to have our house serve us and our interests. Rather than have cluttered up spaces, I want to make them more welcoming to us and others. I talked about having a plan.
But plans only work if you commit to them and follow through. So I am making a commitment to get my house in order. First, I will pray, asking God for wisdom, and start taking one step at a time. I will also recruit other family members to make suggestions and do their part.
[bctt tweet=”As we commit to making changes, pursuing dreams, moving forward we need help from others. It’s good to have friends who will pray for you and remind you of your commitments.” username=”GaylWright”]
And it goes both ways. We also need to pray for our friends and be there to encourage them in their life happenings.
Commit to Good Works
While we are busy with our own needs and interests, we still need to reach out to others. We can share by opening our home to welcome guests. Or we can be ready to help when someone calls on us.
In our own communities there are probably places we could help out. I have not made much of a commitment in the area where we live. It’s rural and there isn’t really much of a community, but maybe I could do some research there.
Our churches are communities that need people to share their lives together. For this reason, we need to commit to doing our part to help the community function well.
God is Committed to Us
We can’t do it all on our own. Sometimes we tend to spread ourselves too thin. We all have strengths and weaknesses, so we need to see what is a good fit for us. Sometimes the best way to help is to pray, especially if you are not able to physically get out.
[bctt tweet=”Finally, for all of it, we look to God for strength and wisdom. He then equips us to live in community doing good wherever we are.” username=”GaylWright”]
Titus 2:11-14(NLT)
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.
We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.
He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
We need to make commitments, but ultimately we depend on God and His commitment to us. We can strive, make plans, push and do our best, but without God’s help, we will not completely succeed. The good news is that God will always be with us and never abandon us.
John 14:16-17 (CSB)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.
Hebrews 13:5 (CSB)
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
You can find the rest of my #write28days series HERE.
I’m linking up with : #porchstories, #Let’sHaveCoffee, #HeartEncouragement, #TuneInThursday
Dear Gayl,
What beautiful thoughts about commitment, with our God being the One who is so faithfully committed to us! I love the photo of you and your husband, and the ways that you have both trusted God to help you remain committed to each other. I pray that I would lean even more on Jesus, for those commitments in my own life, and trust that He will give me strength to follow through with what He has asked. Thank you so much for these reminders that His Holy Spirit is always with us and in us! Love and hugs to you dear Sister! xo
Dear Bettie,
Thank you so much for your encouraging thoughts and your faithful prayers for me. I pray that I would also continue to lean on Jesus and believe that He will give what is needed. Much love to you, dear sister, with many blessings! xoxo
Dear Gayl,
I need your words just now as I’m struggling with my commitment to keep on writing. There are so many things I feel I “have to do” so writing comes quite low on the list!
Dear Lisa,
I know what you mean. It has been a commitment for me to write each day this month and it’s been hard. It’s so easy for other things to “get in the way” of writing. Some things we don’t choose but seem to fall on us, and those can gobble up time, too. I will pray that you have time to write. It can be so healing for us. Blessings and love to you, dear sister! xo
I so appreciated your thoughts on marriage; so helpful to hear from those who have walked this path before us. I love your quote about the star … I saw one early this morning and I could sense God speaking to me through it. So glad I got to “meet” you via the #Write28Days challenge. Bettie and Lisa are also good friends, I know.
Thank you, Hulda! I’m glad I got to “meet” you, too! Beloved Prodigal was a good place to find some lasting friendships. 🙂 This #write28days challenge was really good for me and stretched me in a good way. Plus I met more people! 🙂 Blessings to you!
What is that country song? If not committed to something, one will fall for anything?
Not sure what the song is, but it might have a point, there. 🙂 Blessings to you, Susan!
Pruning is something we all need to do at some point our time isnt it? Pruning to produce good fruit! So thankful you have such a blessed marriage and that you have been able to work through those hard times.
You are so right, Tara. Pruning is needed, maybe not always welcome at the time, but so worth it. Yes, God has certainly carried us through these years of marriage. It will be 45 this year in Sept. Blessings to you! xo
Hello, Gayl,
Thank you for stopping by my blog. I’ve been reading through some of your posts for Write28Days and finding them so insightful. I’m marking your blog so I can come back and read the rest. I loved the one with the Swan prompt! It really hit home in many ways. So nice to meet you. Such a lovely blog! Karen
Hi Karen! It’s so nice to meet you, too! Thank you for your kind words. Blessings to you!