Why I Divorced The Real Housewives.

Let me just start by saying that God is amazing.  I have been on a serious spiritual journey these past couple of months and I love how the Lord has a way of helping us get to where we want to be if we just ask Him. What's great about asking the Lord to guide your journey is that He goes a totally different direction than where you would have ever chosen to go.
A few years ago I, along with many other women, found myself hooked on The Real Housewives of 'where ever'.  I faithfully tuned in each week to see what new drama would arise and fill up an hour of my life (usually twice a week).  My husband has NEVER been a fan of these shows and would remind me over and over that what I was watching was filled with absolutely no moral fiber and it wasn't teaching me anything. My response was always the same, "I know, I'm not watching it to learn anything."
I am ashamed and embarrassed to admit that it took me until about two weeks ago to realize this- it was teaching me something. It was teaching me to not be happy in my season of life.  That is was okay to treat people with disrespect and anger.  That taking the Lord's beautiful name in vain was like wearing your favorite accessory.  That using four letter words is considered stylish. That being catty and sometimes violent got you more attention than being kind and forgiving.  That sitting around gossiping about your 'friends' and disrespecting your husbands to the world was acceptable.  That spending money that you didn't have to be like everyone else was satisfying.  That fighting with family is approved of.  That being selfish is our right.  Needless to say, for the past eight years, I have not been learning how to be a Godly wife or mother, and to say that it didn't hurt me and my family would be a lie.

I was noticing that every time I would watch these shows my attitude would change.  I would get angry, act sassy and disrespectful and by witnessing the negativity of others I was becoming a very unappealing person - at home.  As women we tend to be easily influenced by our peers and what we see is what we start to mimic.  I was doing just that.  The Lord tells us to be in this world but not of it and though I wasn't 'in the show', I certainly had allowed myself to have a front row seat.
I decided that I didn't want to allow things in my life that weren't a reflection of Jesus.  The bible tells me that my job as a wife and mother is to be a witness of the gospel to my family and those around me and I was being anything but that.  I wasn't showing a true picture of Christ in my attitude.  You might find this extreme, but for me during that 'time slot', I know I was holding hands with the devil.    
I think about the many times that I have not allowed my kids to watch certain things that their friends were allowed to see specifically due to the content and language.  I didn't and don't want them to be a witness to such trash and yet every week I was giving the devil a backstage past to my heart.
Like I said, the Lord is amazing beyond any comprehension.  He finds ways to show us what we need to see if we just ask for His help.  He gives us grace and forgiveness in ways that we don't deserve and allows us another chance when we've done nothing but wronged Him.  I wish that I would have come to this conclusion long ago, but it's never to late to find the peace that the Lord so desperately wants us to experience.
I can honestly say that divorcing the housewives has allowed me to see life more clearly and to love more passionately on both my husband and my children.  The only real housewife around here is me, and I'm really starting to like her.