So much more than meets the eye...

The other day I heard that it had been said that the things happening in my life are punishment for bad choices. I have found it interesting over the past couple of years the number of people in my life who are much like the friends that Job had to deal with.  Always looking at the glass half empty.  Their thinking is that if you are experiencing a storm with mountains of hurt, you must be living wrong. 

Sometimes I wonder what Bible those type of thinkers are reading.  I wonder what they are being taught in their churches.  I wonder what dark roads they have experienced.

I was rereading things that have occurred in my life over the past year and am encouraged.  You see, I was scared of 2011 because 2010 had been horrible.  I could not see the "silver lining."  There just did not seem like there would ever be an end to the heartache and pain.  This past year has not been pain free.  What it has been is an incredible journey where I have experienced God, seen Him provide, watched Him work miracles and been given some amazing friendships.

Last year the song That’s what faith can do was a popular song on the Christian radio stations.  It was a song that each time it played; I prayed that God would allow me to experience Him in such miraculous ways.  Guess what?  He answered my prayer.

For those who say that “my hell” was my own doing, so be it.  To you I say, you are missing the AMAZINGNESS of God. My personal hell has been hard.  Much of it caused by the evil of others but yes, I have fallen along the way too but been picked up by God each time. He has held me close in His arms and healed the broken places. I would not trade a moment of the past few years of my life.  I asked God for the chance to know Him better, to see Him move in my life and allow me the chance to experience miracles and He answered my prayer.  I would NOT change a thing.

For those skeptics, you need to know that before I took my first breath, my story was written.  God has not been surprised by a moment of my life.  He knew how every day of my life would unfold.  It was however, up to me as to how I would respond to each event.  There were times I got lost and could not find Him but He would then reveal Himself in my life in ways that you might now understand.  Those who believe that others who suffer do so at their own doing are missing just what faith can do.  Job was tested.  God allowed Satan to test the faith of Job.  He experienced his own hell but in the end, God blessed Him beyond measure for His faithfulness.

I am learning that people like to talk.  People like to judge.  People like to pick apart the lives of other people missing the flaws in their own life but those people are missing the most important thing in life.  They are missing the opportunity to glorify God through their lives and missing divine opportunities for a huge growth in their faith. 

So here is where I am left standing.  It has been over two months since I have received any form of financial help.  I have been left to provide for every need of five children and myself on my own. I make a little more than minimum wage but do you know what?  We have yet to go hungry.  We have yet to go without water, hot or cold.  We have yet to go without heat and electricity.  I have yet to run out of gas on the side of the rode. I wake every morning with a new outlook on life.  Instead of stressing over the bill that is due in a week, I focus on the day ahead.  I think about the previous days and the ways in which God has provided and am reminded of His faithfulness. We have yet to go without anything. The food, the money, the need is always provided.

I was not sure how Christmas would turn out this year but I knew in my heart there was no need to be anxious.  Up to this point God has provided all we have needed and I knew He would not stop now. Yesterday we experienced one of those miraculous days.  A local church Sunday school class provided bags and bags of groceries.  There were groceries for baking, there was a ham for Christmas day and so so so much more.  Today I came home to find two huge boxes filled with presents at the front door.  Everything is coming together and I am quite certain that this will in fact be the best Christmas my kids and I have ever experienced. 

God is truly with us.  He provides and blesses when we seek and love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength.  God is good!

That's What Faith Can Do- Kutless

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes
And make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache
You think it's more than you can take
But you're stronger
Stronger than you know

Don't you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
It's just a reason
For someone not to try

Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It'll be alright

Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do