Where Life Meets Faith

 

Despite being a Christian essentially my entire life, I had never established a daily time with Jesus until I was driven close to insanity having 4 children in 5 years! After these many years of newborns, nightly feedings, diaper changes, lack of sleep- if you are a mom you can vividly see the picture…I had come to a place where as my feet hit the floor running, morning after morning, I grew tired of being weary! Somewhere amidst all the chaos and noise, I made a decision out of selfish ambition really, to wake about an hour before the little buggers did, and lock myself in a quiet room with God. My intent was to merely seek His peace, so when my kids awoke I could try and spread a little of it into our madness.

At the time I had no idea how this would change me, but I can say that over the many years now that I have given the first part of the day to my Savior, I have become so dependent on Him that my days are off kilter when I do not. Just as our closest friendships are with those where time and energy are most vested, it is no different with our Heavenly Father. How can we feel His presence in our lives or know when He is leading us one way or the other, if He is a friend we occasionally talk to or call upon when we are only in need. Our relationship with the Lord must be like a garden that begins with mere seeds, but over time with the right amount of sunshine and water, those seeds begin to grow into something beautiful. Time spent with the Maker of our souls is the essence to our closeness with Him. In a world bombarded by technology and one thing after the next biding for our time, it takes daily effort and discipline to reserve time out of our schedule and offer a piece of it to the Lord. He awaits our sacrifice, and I assure you that He will make it every bit worthwhile. He will fill you so full of His grace and love that you can’t help but desire more of Him, and I am confident that you will never want to go back to the days without.

With love-  April

John 15:5-8
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

There is a song out right now by Big Daddy Weave titled, “This is My Story.” It is one of my absolute favorites! My heart swells each time I listen to the words, I mean really listen. If we think about it, our stories in life that have the biggest impact on others aren’t the happy ones judged by the worlds’ standards. They aren’t in the stories of how people got to be rich, how they have the biggest houses and the fastest cars, or how no tragedy has ever brushed their canvas.  These are not the stories that God uses to tell His story through us.

He sent His only son Jesus to this earth to be born in the lowest most humble of places (a barn), to live a life as a servant essentially, and walk amongst people who hated him his whole life. They would ultimately murder him with the most inhumane forms of death known at that time (crucifixion).  Yet this is the greatest love story in the Bible.  The story God used to offer salvation to all of His children. That through the death of His only son, if we just believe in Him, He offers us eternity with Him in Heaven.

God uses each one of us in similar ways. He uses our tragedy, our sin, our life struggles- to heal others while He is healing us simultaneously. Perhaps His greatest love story now in our current lives, is for us to tell our stories that God used to grow us. Where he took our pain, heartache, hopelessness, despair, fear,…the list goes on and on. But the story doesn’t.  It ends with our Heavenly Father taking all of those things and weaving them into a tapestry of grace, forgiveness, and healing.  Where He takes the ashes and mends them into a beautiful canvas known as life. He walks hand in hand with us through those darkest moments, perhaps even carries us at times when we lose strength enough to walk, and He stays by our side until the chapter becomes bearable. In His time, He moves us into that next chapter and with His love and grace, He writes it greater than all the ones before. He takes the brokenness that we lay at His feet, and heals us with His insurmountable peace and love. And then He calls us to share our story with the ones around us that He places in our path. It is through OUR stories that they will see His, and this gives Him our greatest honor and praise.

With love-   April

John 15:16-17

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.

 

         Do we REALLY trust Jesus with all our hearts?  I believe I do….and then when something is thrown from left field….or a prayer not answered the way I would like…it thumps me upside the head and forces me  to make a conscious effort to really trust Him.  When life throws a curve ball it causes me to look up and ask, “Why did you let that happen Lord?”  I am reminded in these moments, how little and helpless I really am without His strength to lift me back onto my feet.  It forces me to get my head on straight, and I love Him even more for protecting me from what I couldn’t see.  I realize I could have been plowed over by my choices or even my prayers, which would have made it even harder to get up in the end.  And the beauty in all of this is that it is in the unexpected, that He draws me closer to Him.

Jesus didn’t live life on this earth without any curve balls.  He had endless people throw the unexpected and undeserved at him.  He himself, was not the meek Savior that walked an untouched path with perfect people alongside him.  He walked and lived among imperfect people with real problems, diseases, and struggles.  Sinners.  The God of the Universe came down to this earth as Man, to live a life with all of the same struggles and temptations that His children face each and every day.  Yet He didn’t make Himself above reproach.  Instead, He came as a servant to show us how to love as the Father loves.  And to trust Him deeply in ALL of life’s moments.  To praise Him when life is good- but to praise Him when life is hard.  To really Trust him.

This lesson in trust is not an easy one by any sense of the word.  God is showing me time and again though, that He is faithful and true no matter what He allows into my life.  He is in control.  He spoke the world into existence and knows my today and my tomorrow.  If we trust Him in all of life’s moments, He will give us insurmountable peace and joy.  He will use our stories to bring glory back to Him.  He wants to bless us and use our lives as a blessing to others.  So for this reason, I will continue the battle to trust Him with all of my heart- believing that He will make my paths straight and use me for His purposes.

With love-   April

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.