IPE 3/26-1 Happily Ever After
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In Papa’s Embrace
-Finding Our Way Home
March 2026
Encouragement for your journey
Since the birth of the 31-Day Devotional, this project has floated in and out of my mind like a bird in the house trying to find an exit. Upon receiving a very encouraging email from someone who had walked with us through the Daily Devotional, the decision was made. Her message ended with just a few simple words: “Keep me on the email list!”
Those words were the gentle nudge Papa used to say, “Go ahead do the email.”
I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about In Papa’s Embrace. This monthly email isn’t about me. This first email is simply an introduction of sorts. There isn’t much about me here, but I do want to be honest with you in what I share and in how I usually write.
Often, this is how I hear Papa: quietly, unexpectedly, and in the middle of the moment when I simply begin to write. I wanted to share that with you in case you find yourself wondering, “Why is he writing this?”
Upon mining the first letter and then sitting down to gather this one, I realized this one needed to come first. So without further ado...
March feels like the perfect month to begin what I think of as a good news letter. It’s a special time of year for me though my wife, Christi, might not agree. She would probably say it feels to me like any other month, especially since I sometimes struggle to communicate my love in ways that speak most clearly to her. One of her primary love languages is acts of service, and I’m still a rather measly servant in that department. You might even say I am a poor lover in this area.
Even so, whether she believes it or not, March holds deep meaning for me. It’s the month Christi and I were married, way back in 1988, simply kids who did not have a clue about what we were getting into. That makes this year our 38th anniversary a milestone that still amazes me. Three kids and six grands later you must know I am a blessed man, and I am so very thankful for Papa's blessings in my life!! Oh, the stories I could tell!
Since this month serves as a kind of marker for me, I want to share a few thoughts about marriage, with the hope of offering some encouragement that you can be married and happy and fulfilled. My apologies if you are not married. I hope you also will be encouraged.
Christi and I are, in many ways, complete opposites. That can be a real gift when it comes to practical matters like paying bills, budgeting, even keeping the house in order. Ha, I bet she will get a kick out of that, the three matters I just named are some of the blessings she brings to our lives.
Being opposites can be a blessing, however, differences can be taxing in the day-to-day rhythms of a relationship. Being opposites can create moments of frustration, and sometimes it can be hard to find activities both genuinely enjoy together. And then there are personality differences that inevitably show up when two lives are intertwined in close proximity.
So let me say this: with the meshing of two lives, there will always be differences and even annoyances that arise simply because we are human. Yet these frustrations become opportunities to live in and from Papa’s embrace, both toward ourselves and toward our spouse. By this, I mean learning to rest in the grace that has received you just as you are, quirks and all, and then extending that same grace to the one you love.
"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." John 1:16 NKJV
It’s a beautiful picture, that actually gives life to me, to remember that we have been brought into the Divine Dance itself. As we remember and rest in the reality of the life that is already ours within the fellowship of Trinity, something shifts within us. This realization and shifting gives birth to joy and peace, like a fresh wind of the Spirit moving through our souls, gently cleansing away that which does not belong. In this we tap into and live from the shared life, the Spirit filled life. Resting in the dance.
"No one ever before gazed upon the full splendor of God except his uniquely beloved Son, who is cherished by the Father and held close to his heart. Now that he has come to us, he has unfolded the full explanation of who God truly is!" John 1:18 TPT
Looking back over the decades Christi and I have shared together, I realize we have always been held in Papa’s embrace. That has been especially true in the hard seasons. I think of the early years of our marriage, though difficulty was certainly not limited to that time alone. Through it all, Papa has been present with us, and He has always come through, even if not in the ways we expected or imagined.
Perhaps in future letters I’ll share more of our story. For now, I’ll leave you with a little something I wrote many moons ago.
EAST OF EDEN
Remember that feeling when you got it right? You finally finished that project for your wife. That first kiss. Or maybe it was the best date you and your spouse have shared in a long time. Perhaps you were standing beside a gently flowing stream, holding hands, caught up in the moment as the sun was setting.
One February, my wife and I stayed in a small condo in the foothills of Missouri to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Just the two of us, alone. The fire was crackling in the fireplace as we stepped out for dinner. A cool, damp breeze brushed against our faces, blowing her hair, and then the snow began to fall all around us. Those few days were truly glorious.
Moments like these take us back to Eden, offering brief glimpses of what God has always desired for us, harmony and wholeness. They remind us of the garden, where God placed man and woman to live together in the quiet beauty and peace of paradise.
"Then God blessed them and said, `Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground'" (Genesis 1:28 NLT).
In His Care,
James
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