On my Chemistry teacher's desk was a flip calendar. It had all sorts of quotes and thoughts for every day of the year. I would love turning the pages each day and reading what bit of wisdom it held for the day. I will never forget one, "Life can only be understood backwards, yet must be lived forwards." How profound! How True! It's a favorite, so let's read it again. "Life can only be understood backwards, yet must be lived forwards."
Have you ever had one of those "Ah-ha" moments? Something takes place and you realize, that is why such and such had to happen for me to get here. I will give an example from my own life. My transcript got lost before my freshman year in college. I was so distraught over why this would happen. I was placed in the wrong English class. The second week of school I got a call from my adviser saying I could now switch Englishes because it had been found and all was resolved. The problem was, I didn't want to switch Englishes now. I loved my professor. I had already made a really good friend in class, and we actually had two other classes together (that is unheard of at NCSU). I declined to move, even though my adviser talked about how I would be behind a class. Fast forward to my sophomore year and I sign up for a 12:00 English 112 class. And in that class, that I shouldn't have been a part of, I met the love of my life, my wonderful husband.
There is an "Ah-ha" moment. I had no idea why I had to go through all the strife that my lost transcript caused me. But, if it had never happened, I might not have ever met my husband. God had designed a plan that I didn't understand at the time, but looking backwards I see He had me just where I needed to be.
My family is beginning the tedious process of finding a new home church. It is painful process right now. We know we are in His hands. We are leaning on the fact that we will look back in a few years and be able to understand why this is happening now. The pain is deep, but we have to keep it from clouding our judgement. We have to keep our eyes on the Lord and where He will lead us to serve next. We must live forwards and know that later on when we look backwards, it will be evident why the changes were necessary.
Today's Verse
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken)." Ps 55:22
I cannot help but sing "I shall not be moved" right now. "Jesus is my Savior, I shall not be moved, in His love and favor, I shall not be moved." Yes, our home church is moving, but our faith is not. We refuse to let the hurt cloud our judgement. We insist on moving forward.
As always, the Lord provided a great devotion for me to read yesterday about pain. It is by Renee Swope from Proverbs 31. I have put the link below if you would like to read the whole thing. She says, "When left unresolved, the pain from our yesterdays can creep up in our todays and keep us from experiencing all God has for our tomorrows." Oh I really like that! I don't ever want to let this time we are going through to cause unresolved pain. I don't want it to have anything but a positive affect on my family's tomorrows. If we continue to live forwards, knowing He has our future, we can be sure we can experience the best He has to offer for our tomorrows.
FYI - I used the leftover cream cheese this week and made a delicious stuffed chicken cutlets recipe. I have added it to the Leftover Queen Tab. Hope you enjoy!
To Enjoy Renee's full devotion, "I haven't got time for the pain" visit...
http://devotions.proverbs31.org/2011/10/i-havent-got-time-for-the-pain.html
Well, you did it again. I think this one was meant just for me. I love what you are doing and I literally get a blessing from it each day. I had already check 2 or 3 times to see if you had posted yet. Tell the girls hey and I love you guys BUNCHES & STUFF!!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use the quote as my status.
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ReplyDelete"When left unresolved, the pain from our yesterdays can creep up in our todays and keep us from experiencing all God has for our tomorrows."
ReplyDeleteWOW! I sure needed that one also ;)
Reminded me of Philippians 3:13-14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
I will be praying as you search for the place the Lord has for your family. Just a little over a year ago we were doing the same from a church we loved and had served in for over 19 years.
The Lord always has a way of giving us the words and encouragement that we need if we will just seek Him. Today He used you, this quote, and your writing to do that very thing for me. Thank you for sharing your heart. Love and blessings to you and yours.