Monday, April 18, 2011

The Light at the End of the Tunnel


Keep going. Don't give up. I know it is hard. I know that everytime you turn around, there is another mountain in the way that is preventing you from really seeing the sun and feeling the warmth. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. This season might end soon, it might not. The fire refines the metal, and all of the impurities are brought to the top, to be skimmed off, leaving a more pure, more streamlined form of the metal that existed before. The same analogy is represented in our lives. When God allows us to be in the fire, the things that we don't need fall away. Desperation may set in and show us that the one thing we can really count on is God and one another. The real friends show up. The real family that loves you- blood or not- become clear. Just as in Job, when his world fell apart, all those that had been his friends, eaten at his table, shared in his prosperity, vanished. Sometimes struggle and pain is what clears the fog so that we can accurately see a glimpse of His glorious face.

Don't wait. Submit to Him. Heaven is better than Hell. Jesus is more than fire insurance. He is hope. He is favor. He is grace.

Amen and Amen.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

A little blue...

Ever just feel a little blue? That was me today. I honestly don't know why. It was a very eventful day. Tracey and I drove to Abilene to see my sister Vonda receive an amazing Sociology student of the year award, right before she graduates on May 14th. I cried. I don't usually spontaneously cry, but today, as I saw her walk across the front of the banquet hall, all of the stuff she has been through really hit me all at once, and there she was, looking majestic and precious, just getting the slip of paper, that translated, just said: Vonda is really cool. Then, we stopped at her house and drove home. Then, a storm brewed in the west, and it flew over our house quicker than the wicked witch of the east, and all seems quiet again. I wanted a real downpour. A drencher. A knock the lights out barrage of liquid. Nothing of the sort. I am however only working half a day tomorrow. I am going to a conference in the afternoon by Alliance for Children, that teaches people how to identify children who have been sexually abused, and then who have communicated about it, how to handle that. I am excited since I am anticipating doing a counseling internship with them in the fall. So, I am going to go cuddle up with my husband and try to get some rest before my adventures tomorrow. I will try not to cry as I am tucking myself in.... at least for no reason. I love you all, I love Jesus, and I am very thankful for Him! Beloved, Have a blessed week.