Slow Fade

There was a song Casting Crowns made a couple years back called "Slow Fade".  It is a great song, it is thought provoking and challenges one to take an inventory of his or her life.
 
It is on my play list at the top.  "Playlist" is no longer automatically feeding into blogs, : ( so you must click on play to hear it.  

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white turn to gray
Thoughts invade, choices made
A price will be paid when you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day, families never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade.  -Casting Crowns

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  1Peter 5:8

I drove by a home today that was once a home to a wonderful family.  A precious couple once lived there with their 4 children.  Today it is a vague reminder of the past for them, it represents a shadow of broken dreams and promises, a family torn apart.  I miss them dearly.  You see, they got divorced about a year ago.  There are some couples you are not surprised to hear are getting a divorce, but that was not the case with this family.  The news completely shocked us!  Every year we went to their home for an annual New Years Eve Party.   They seemed to be happy, they seemed to have it all together.  It was very painful to hear that our friends were separating. We still pray for them. 

(If you are divorced,  please know I am not condemning you. I know things happen and I am no one's judge.)

So, as I drove by their home today I thought, "How?  How did that happen?"

I'll tell you it didn't happen overnight.  People never crumble in a day.  It was a slow fade.

We need to be very aware in our lives of tactics the enemy may try to use to get us off track.  We need to be aware of the people we are allowing into our lives and use caution in our relationships.  Ask questions like "Is this person a good influence or bad influence on me?"  We need to use wisdom.  It isn't wise for opposite sexes to spend too much time together or be alone together.  Chris and I have a rule to not ride alone in a car with a member of the opposite sex.  It is only using wisdom.  We also need to be aware of what we are allowing ourselves to watch on television, listen to on the radio, or look at on the internet.  Remember, it may seem like a small thing, but it is a slow fade.

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.  Song of Solomon 2:15


We must be on the look out for foxes, the little foxes that get in there and end up ruining the fruit.  The little "foxes" may seem small, but overtime they end up corrupting that which was good.  If one isn't mindful to keep a barometer on his spiritual walk and what is going into his life, he may wake up one day wondering what happened.  "How did this happen?"  It was a slow fade.

I was very thankful as Chris and I discussed an important matter the other night.  I was very thankful for our relationship and to be married to such a godly man.  That being said, I know I must be "sober" and "vigilant", I must be calm, temperate and watch.  I must be on guard, on the lookout for ways the enemy might be trying to get a foothold in my life or family and immediately resist the enemy by submitting myself to God and rebuking the enemy.  The enemy then has no choice but to flee (James 4:7).

Let's be diligent to watch our thoughts, watch our words, watch our actions, and watch our choices.  Every choice we make will either bring us one step closer to the Lord or one step away.  We need to watch our steps and not compromise.  We need to be progressively growing in the Lord and in our marriage, not fading away and giving into sin.   Don't "give yourself away" to things unworthy of you.  Jesus paid a valuable price for you, you are precious and priceless. 

People never crumble in a day.  Its a slow fade.