Oops... I took a wrong turn!

Life is busy, always busy. And there are times we stray off on our own, and then all of a sudden I realize that I really did take my own road. Instead of looking for guidance and asking for help, I tried to navigate murky waters and ended up stuck in quicksand and sinking fast... I was just thinking today that there are things that I just "don't know what to do" with... Then I read this blog from the Praise and Coffee site, as I drank my morning coffee today. It is so true, and I have to thank Angie there at Praise and Coffee for writing what it was that I needed to read...

Walking in the Dark

Faith

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself..."

Matt. 6:34

In this time of failing economy, job loss and high unemployment, and with a husband that works in an auto manufacturing plant in Michigan, it is hard to not worry about tomorrow. Tonight is just one of those nights when it seems like there is not much to do other than worry. But there is, I can pray for an answer, I can have faith in tomorrow, and I can hold true to the words in Matthew 6:25 - 26 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

We have faced hard times before, we have thought that we might be at the end of the road, but there is always a way before us that seems to appear... An opening, the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel." He has never let us down. I just keep telling myself that I need to have Faith, more accurately FAITH, the Faith that can move mountains... And it often seems ironic that the times that we need Faith the most, are the times when we feel like we have none, but we keep praying for it just the same.

Then I look at James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." And I know that times are hard, not just hard, but down right scary and out of our control, but I know that He is in control. He will bring us to it, and see us through it.

I will have Faith in the brighter tomorrow, and Faith that things will turn around. And through it all, I will look for the "bright side" of the situation, because no matter how bad things seem to be, He will be loving us and guiding us, and leading us to pray for not just ourselves but for those that may be worse off than us.

God-Sightings

An amazing eulogy, given by a 19 year old nephew to his aunt, has been on my mind for over a week now. His eulogy was so touching in many ways; however, the reason it has been “haunting” me is simply that it opened my eyes. He spoke of “God-sightings” and how his aunt taught him about them. I had never even heard the phrase before, and in my busy little world, I, unfortunately, had not taken the time to enjoy them when I did experience them.

But this phrase, this term that I had never even heard has changed my world. His interpretation of “God-sightings” was seeing God in the everyday world. Glimpses of God, signs of his work, people doing his work, just seeing His name in a public area, etc… And since being introduced to this phrase, I have had my eyes opened. On the way home from work the following day I was following a Jeep with the license plate LUV4GOD. A couple nights later I was “vegging,” and watching my Thursday night trash TV. However, that trashy programming turned out to be “God-sightings” right there on my television that left me a weeping mess of a viewer. My soapish, Grey’s Anatomy, was about the power of faith healers and how just having faith makes you “feel better.” The song on the radio this morning telling me to "open my heart and mind..." and the words of my almost 4 year old telling me "God likes it when we are nice to people." The crosses I pass on the side of the road everyday to mark the lives lost by someone in an auto accident.

Then there’s those normal little occurrences that have probably occurred many times, but I had never taken time to notice them as being “God-sightings.” The table full of men in the coffee shop being witnessed to by the local pastor; the good deeds that someone at work is doing for another without being asked in anyway; the support system of friends and family in times of need; the call from a friend just when you are feeling lost and alone, and the song on the radio with lyrics that touch your soul when you need it the most. All these little things that had never meant more to me than just religious symbols, are "God-sightings" and his hand in our lives letting us know that he is here.