Falling into Jesus

Knowing who I am and who created me helps me know where to fall everytime. I am going through the biggest struggle of my 33 nearly 34 years. I don't pretend that I have seen the worst thing or by far know everything. I am just learning where to fall.

This past month I have had my life partner truly break my heart, come to realization that financially we have hit rock bottom for the second time, and been lost and are wondering without a church home. I most of which I am responsible for or at least played a huge part in. It still left me free falling into a pit of despair. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry until well until forever. I realized as I cried and sometimes screamed I was crying and screaming to Jesus. I knew I wasn't alone. I was hurting, I was broken, I was even crushed, but not left alone. I knew he was listening to all that I was saying and all I didn't say.

I am airing my dirty laundry not because I am hoping yours gets dirty but because I know my God is helping me wash mine. I know God never left me, I know I fell straight into his arms. I also know I am not alone in the hurting.

I grew up with sayings like "God will never give us more than we can handle" and "God helps those that help themselves" and while they are great I think they cripple us from the truth. The truth is that we have more than we can handle all the time and if we could help ourselves there would be no need for God's intervention. Those sayings are peoples way of leaving God out and putting people in. The truth is His word says He will give you a way out, not you will make a way out. It is also true we must work out what He is working in, but let me you tell it is God that is working within before you will work it out. God will not share His glory.

I found that I thought that I was far from God and that was only mental positioning. I can tell you in my fall it was as though He was breathing in my face, holding me. I just want to encourage you whatever is going on in your life God already knows about it, He made you! He wants to work in you so you can work it out, for His glory in every situation and circumstance.

LW

transparency

If we would just be transparent that we don't have it all together. If we could all truly tell the truth about our hurts and needs, I think we could better bear each others burdens. I also am convinced that we could testify more effectively of Christ in us. His abilitly to save, comfort, and heal.

I think everytime we say we are okay when we aren't or give God credit for something we truly haven't even begun to let him work out in our lives we lie. We lie to ourselves, we lie to others and we are not giving God any glory because our life lived out will show itself to me less than honorable, less than glorifying to His name.

I ache for God in all the places of my heart and life. I don't want to just pretend He is there and then try to workup the appearance that He is. This is my prayer and I know I am far from this place right now.

I will coninue to ask for God's help to press through this to victory in Him.

Eph 3:16-18
LW

Why?

This question is on my mind it seems daily. Well it is on mind hourly it seems this past month. Why? I am trying to understand why me? Why now? Why would someone else make the choices they did. I guess I won't have the answers. I want them so badly, so bad I will claw at them. I will read another book, I will ask another question without answers. I will pray prayers that I know God can't answer. Then I do the really silly thing I ask myself why are you doing this? It would be funny if it weren't so awful.

I always hate to say this is the worst thing because I know there is worse. I know I have beautiful blessings in my life everyday. I have three wonderful children. I have food in my kitchen everyday. I have parents and a sister. I have a God who is sovereign and saved me from hell and even myself.

Then I get back to the why..then why does it hurt so bad? Why am I having such a hard time with this? Shouldn't it be easier, shouldn't I be better at forgiving with all my God has done for me?? Am I the only one or am I the only one talking about it? Why do people act so Christian and they have it all together or maybe they do and I don't??!!

Well I have blabbered on but this has to go somewhere

Eph3:14-18
LW

what do you do when it hurts to much?

I keep asking myself how do I move or breathe or even get up for another day when I feel so broken in a million pieces. Then at the next moment I ask myself, what are you being so silly for, get up move on what are you being broken and hurt for? Just the swinging back and forth is enough to make you feel insane. Somehow in the midst of this all I know my God is walking with me. I am sure that when no one knows my pain he can not just see it but understand every bit of it. Right now that comforts me to know I am understood, I am seen. More than that my pain is understood and seen.

I guess for the future I want to be able to think of day when it won't hurt like this. I want to be able to think of a day when my relationship with God is restored fully and my marriage is restored. I am beginning to think it is possible. I know that it is possible somewhere in my heart, I could read it, I could probably even tell my friend but it escapes my scope when I think of it in my future.

I should say I am certain without Christ this would unbearable. I need to act on my belief that God is bigger than any circumstance that could ever come. I need to cling to Jesus in this storm.

clinging

Man when you're wrong you're wrong

I love to be right and hate to be hurt. I love for things to go well too. I love when my family and marriage is all packed in a nice package. I guess I like it so well I will lie to myself. I like it so well I will squeeze God out to have it. I will arrange all my feelings to have it. I will apologize for hurt feelings and just plain turn into someone else to get it. The reality that life has spun so far out of control so you could keep it looking somewhat like you wanted it to, really just sucks pardon my french.

I am truly terrified someone will hurt me and I won't like it so I just tell myself, it didn't hurt or they can't hurt me. Or other really interesting things "christian" things like God loves me, so they can't bother me, which is my favorite. So when my marriage is a total wreck and I am dieing inside. I am smiling the whole time saying it doesn't hurt when my life partner has been dishonest with me for years, it can't hurt me because God loves me. At some point I realize what a liar I am to myself, how prideful I am. I am so worried about me, about God being who I want, about my family looking how I want. I won't even admit to myself that I am hurting. That lies hurt, broken promises hurt. I won't admit God isn't even the puppet master in heaven controlling people to make them like I want, he isn't a waiter that gets me what I want or makes my life beautiful and happy everyday.

I am just realizing that it is only in truth that healing can ever happen. I have to tell myself the truth. The truth about who God is. The truth about who I am. The truth about who my Husband is...and who all those people can be to me.

I will be honest it has been and still is like a death to me. I am mourning the loss of the things that will never be, because of who I can't even be to myself, but also who God and Chris can't be to or for me. I am sad to say my expectations were high, and not even real but they were real to me. I had been developing them and thinking on them since I was a little girl so this has been a very difficult time of loss for me.

I am trying to grow in my understanding who God is not what I want Him to be. I want Eph3:17-18 "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."

Change

I just wanted to share a testimony of how God spoke to me when I was confused and being stubborn. This is something I really needed to hear. I have alot of things I feel like NEED to happen. Alot of things that NEED to be done a certain way. When they don't I get really flustered and overwhelmed. I am not as good at being calm about it when I am sick.

I got this really big thump on the head from God that I don't NEED to do my work in peoples lives but I NEED to let Him do His work. Then I would be alot less flustered because then everything wouldn't be up to me. Life is not really people becoming what I think God wants them to be. It's about me hearing from God for my life. If I would spend more time encouraging the accomplishments I see rather than the things I wish people could be(including myself) I am sure it would be more pleasing to God. Everyone gets more done with encouragment than with nagging. I beleive His word says spur each other to good works.

I want to become a wife that nags less and encourages more. I want to be the wife that notices the little things my husband does everyday to be the man God is asking. I want to be the mother that spurs my children to good works. This is my prayer to get off my agenda and onto God's.

LW

Thankfulness

I have been given a challenge and I want to pass it on to others. This time of year when we are just covered in commercials with Thanksgiving sales and turkeys, I am afraid we have forgotten to be thankful. I am talking about the act of being thankful, to actually act it out not just sit together at a table and eat food or make plans for another year with the family. I am having a year that I see God moving in my heart and life to remind me "look around Laura at all I provided in friends, family, food, and love." I have fallen short to be thankful, not just to God, but to actually say these words to others so they will know what they mean to me.

There are so many people that pour there lives out for Christ and refuse to be thanked, but I believe we can thank them on God's behalf. We need to thank them for their surrender to His will. We can all think of how someones surrendered life has changed or impacted ours in some way.

I am going to give a minimum of 30 minutes to actively being thankful this Thanksgiving. I am going to be specific with at least one person about what am thankful for in how they impact my life. I am also going to start a tradition in my family of thankfulness this year. This was the challenge I was given, I believe in passing on a good challenge. Maybe this will be a truly thankful Thanksgiving :)

LW