It's a marathon, not a sprint!

At some point in our life, and maybe even often, we go through trials that seem impossible to overcome. Have you ever looked back at your life and thought about some of those hardships you've gone through and seen how you grew, and how you overcame that hardship? Isn't it amazing how that incident seemed to reshape who you are? Did you come out a better person? Did you come out the same person, but able to take away a valuable lesson? I don't think there is one time I did not learn something from a difficult situation. 

Romans 5:3-5 reads: "And not only that, but we GLORY in TRIBULATION, knowing that tribulation produces PERSEVERANCE; and perseverance, CHARACTER: and character, HOPE. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

The dictionary describes perseverance as steady persistence in a course of action. Unfortunately, there is no time set for perseverance, it is just steady persistence for "x" amount of time which can totally stink! So many times I have wished for it to hurry up and be over with, but that wasn't in God's plan, He was still working on building my character.  

My character is built by being persistent in every situation. I am building my own moral qualities and growing closer to God in the process. Persistence takes prayer, and a lot of it. Some days I don't know how I can stand another hour, and other days I am just fine with the situation that I am in at that time. Pray, pray, pray!  As hard as the situation might be, and as long as it may take, I know that I am shaping who I am by how I am handling myself. 

Hope. What is hope and why do I need it? Hope is the feeling that what I want can be had, or that a certain situation will turn out for the best. I think the bigger question here, is what am I hoping for? Is my hope in vain? Am I hoping for the impossible? Am I hoping for worldly things? Do I hope to build a lasting, fulfilling relationship with God? 

I like what Paul writes here about hope. Why does he say that hope does not disappoint? We have all hoped for something and not had things turn out how we "hoped" they would, so why would Paul say that hope does not disappoint? I like what he says to follow hope not disappointing: "because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts." Through my relationship with God, I know that I will not be disappointed. I have prayed for many things over this past year and  a lot of the answers that I have had to wait for have been "No". Why would God tell me no if Paul says that hope does not disappoint? Right now in my life, hope does not disappoint because I don't know what the future holds, but I know that God does, and he is directing my path towards that amazing journey. That journey is going to be better than I can imagine, and if he gives me everything I think is good for my life, I might miss the greatest adventure of them all!

While I'm not entirely sure what it is, I know that God has a plan for me. So I will persevere, I will build a strong character, I will hope, and I will NOT be disappointed! :) 

Have a great week! 

Megs

Fleas of Life

My house was recently infested with fleas which consisted of paranoia, three scratching dogs, endless baths, and spraying everything that is visible to the eye with flea spray. I found myself getting so mad at these little fleas that were seemingly taking over my house and my thoughts.

This led me to think about the fleas of my own life. The little things in life that aren't necessarily always visible, but seem to annoy me and cause me to itch with emotion. Are these "fleas" the devil trying to pick and bite at me? I tend to think so. I wish the little things didn't bother me, but they do. Or at least I think they are little; maybe they aren't, but who's to say?

What gets rid of these fleas? What allows me to focus on what is important instead of being bit? I'm almost certain you can come up with a biblical analogy with everything, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of thinking of this. Hello?? How do you think you get rid of fleas?!? Diving into a giant bottle of flea spray of course, which in this case is unmistakably the word of God.
It has come to my attention that fleas are all around us. The only way to rid them is to stay focused on God and ask for his help throughout the big and small things.

I could sulk and ask myself why things have happened the way they have in my life. Why do I have chronic back pain? Why did my husband leave me and not want to work things out? Why am I afraid of success? Why do I quit too early at things I know I could succeed at? Why is my family not close anymore? There are countless questions we all want to ask and we all want to know the answers to, but I'm afraid we never will know all the answers to why things happen. The important thing is that we don't let the fleas overtake us and we lean on God for comfort when there are no answers.

Again, God has been a constant in my life, and only when you truly realize this and embrace it, can you experience freedom.

If it weren't for my past, I would have very little to offer. I will offer you these last words before I call it a night. I hope you have your flea repellant on hand and always turn to God for answers and for peace.

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present."

-From a presentation at Downtown Church of Christ

Desires of your Heart

I was recently telling a new friend about how I have been completely engulfed in Christ and how amazed I was at the blessings He has been bestowing upon me just by trusting in Him. She reminded me of a very important scripture that has proven to be very relevant in my life as of late.

 It is Psalm 37:4 which reads:

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

When she reminded me of this scripture, I was amazed by it because I never really knew the meaning of it until recently. God has given me the desires of my heart in a big way. I never wanted to get divorced, but now that it has happened, I didn't think life could go on. "What would I do now that I am completely alone?" I thought to myself. When I was filling myself with worldly things, I was trying to fill an emptiness I felt. An emptiness so unbearable I could hardly stand it. Little did I know that God could fill my cup, fill my loneliness with His love and His Spirit. I'm alone, but not alone! I am full of Christ and drained of myself and it gives you a joy that is hard to describe!! :)

I wish I could explain how I feel better than this post, but I challenge you. I challenge you to seek comfort in God. I know that there are those out there just like me, feeling alone and lost even if you try and "fake" being "great" on the outside to your friends and family. The loneliness can be so unbearable at times, so I know how you feel and I know the things you do to try and fill that loneliness. I pray that you will seek God's guidance and search your heart to let him completely in! The reward is far greater than you can even imagine!!

I still don't have internet, so I'm on sissy's computer, but I just had to share this! God is so good and His love will NEVER fail you! When people fail you, God won't! He will never leave you! What an amazing God we serve! :)

Until next time,

Megs