Through grand times and tough times, remember..........
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose." Romans 8:28
It would help a lot of us were you to outline a time when you thought things would not work together for good but they finally did. Anybody have any stories? Please take the time to fill us in. You can say something like "my friend had this happen...." if you'd rather not expose yourself. I'd so understand that. BELIEVE me.
Please dwell on that quote from Romans, no matter if you comment or not.....it really could help. I hope it does.
Have a glorious Sunday!
Z
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
Romans 8:28 is my "life verse," which I determined decades ago (before life got to be so difficult).
The situation in the AOW household today isn't a situation that I can see working together for good. Neither Mr. AOW nor I are in a good mood right now; see this.
Z - I don't have a story but I do believe that things work togeter for good even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.
Have a great Sunday.
I'm not the type to go job hopping, so for God to get me to a better position, I have to lose the one I have.
I'm not saying He's closed plants to move me on, but He's protected me through it.
Ultimately His goal is to get me to depend on Him.
Someday I'll have to die to be with Him.
Ed, depending on Him enough is important enough right now.
AOW...a friend who reads the blog but never comments here sent you that email I forwarded to you and I thought I'd post her sentiment here, too, that people wouldn't usually don't think women can get really attached to a car, but we DO :-) I sure have loved MY cars.
I'm so sorry about your having to sell the Mustang.
Sue...I'm going thru something now and it doesn't seem like anything's working for the good BIG TIME, but I know I'll look back on it and realize what was really happening. I just know it. Now I have to convince my emotions of that !!
Ed, if you come back today, could you email me privately? I just wrote you a very long email and would like to get it to you but it came back.
Thanks.
I'll leave a note at your place now, too.
http://leticiasworld.blogspot.com/
Sue, check out Leticia's blog; presidential facts that are fascinating..and I know you're into that.
Did you all know Lincoln created the Secret Service the Day HE WAS ASSASSINATED!?
Honestly...I find that REALLY spooky!
Long story for a short point
When my friend ‘Sharon’ was a little girl her mother abandoned the church to do LSD with a guru that helped her expand her mind, while helping himself sexually to her children. They begged her to protect them from him, but it took the grandmother and a court case to save the kids.
‘Mom’ re-invented herself as a cult guru, complete with adoring following. Ditched the guy and totally abandoned her kids (pain for them at the time – but definitely worked out for their benefit in the long run!). Extremely manipulative, rude, Center-of-the-Universe, her life mission has been to rid the planet of Christianity. And her children? All strong and energetic Christians (praise God)! And much healed from terrible childhood scars.
Fast forward 48 years. The mother is dying of ALS, at the hospice stage, bedridden and can no longer speak. The kids are making sure she is attended to in comfort. She only has finger movements which she uses to type out rude and hurtful texts. Like on Christmas day – to celebrate the publication of her last book which is her definitive word against Christ. She has made it a point to send these zingers throughout their lives to be hurtful to the body of Christ.
In the throes of pain from major surgery, Sharon had to step in to manage a crisis with ‘mom.’ Sharon is a relaxed sort, but interactions with ‘mom’ were historically charged affairs. This ‘emergency’ scene was filled with old hot buttons (particularly of sexual abuse) that used to get her going. But that did not happen. Instead, she had complete peace through it all.
The point. Sharon has long felt that she was given a near miraculous healing concerning this woman. It’s not been tested as intensely as it was in that bitter scene on the cusp of her mother’s death. She praised God for using it for good, to build her up instead of tear her down, to prove to her how much she had been healed, and how He provides peace through the storm. For that Sharon was deeply grateful as she told me the story, virtually quoting the Romans verse.
I read this to Scherie, and she asked me to relate what happened when her brother died in a tragic construction accident on site with their dad who was the supervisor, who had just sent Tim to the location where a block wall fell on him.
Scherie's mom approached the priest to do the funeral, and he refused saying they had not been supporting the parish recently.
A friend suggested her pastor might. Her pastor was Tom Trask who later went on to lead the Assemblies of God for years.
Pastor Trask agreed, and as a consequence, Scherie and her sister started attending church.
They got saved.
Their mom attended.
She got saved.
Their dad got saved.
They found in Tim's effects, letters to a girl that implied he had a relationship with Jesus just prior to his death.
I met Scherie at church.
We married.
She introduced me to her cousin at her uncle's house.
I led her cousin to the Lord.
Her cousin led her mom (Scherie's aunt).
Her aunt led her other daughters (on her death bed, even).
Her uncle became a deacon.
In 2009, I was laid off for the first time in my life where I was scared for my future.
I was older, white, and the economy had crashed perhaps to crash further.
I was laid off for four months.
During this time, I did some remodeling of our churches heating system, tearing out a boiler and a ton of radiators.
I made closer connections with my neighbors doing auto repairs, helping with roofing and lawn care.
Some are now attending church with me.
But I was very anxious for my future.
I knew I was burned at work, and that what should have been a rotating layoff would now probably become permanent because of some office politics.
And I wondered if I would ever work again.
I wondered how this could happen to a faithful christian like myself. I don't like the word tithe, but if you saw my checkbook, you'd think I did.
I felt like a failure.
I was the only unemployed person in my church!
I finally got a job offer an hour away as a maintenance tech.
I took it.
I flourished there.
Then I got an offer as an automation engineer again, 5 minutes from home.
I took it.
A week later they had major cutbacks and I was gone.
Three weeks later, I saw an ad for a position in Toledo, and applied.
I took it.
I've been with them for four years, and helped open a new plant for them last year 20 minutes from home, half the drive.
I thank God I'm not at any of those previous places from what I hear, and yet I'm glad I was there when I was.
Each position moved me to where I am.
God has given me an empathy for people that I did not have before that trauma.
I am able to pray for people a little more connectedly.
I pray God continues to provide, as there is no way I can see myself retiring for another ten years (when I'm 70).
That'd be fine with me.
I love what I do.
That in itself is a blessing.
I've been a little windy, but maybe someone might benefit from a testimony to God's faithfulness.
@Baysider:
Praise God!
Ed, thanks so much for sharing your stories. They touch me exactly where I live. I heartily second your comment about getting more empathy with others through adversity.
Through my own trials of major personal relationship issues, progressive cutbacks at work over 2+ years then the beloved company that I worked for 17 years closing, struggles to start a small business just as my mom's health and mental state worsened and needed more [long distance] attention, then her death and handling estate, huge drop in income .... every big whammy in 4 years. All while going through exhaustingly painful braces. Just when things looked up, another big wave came along. Often I sensed how God was carrying me and could look back on how He brought me through every stage. Learned more empathy, patience, acceptance over defiance, and gratitude.
@Z:
"Did you all know Lincoln created the Secret Service the Day HE WAS ASSASSINATED!?"
Yup..I did.
Guess they were too new and not yet up to the job?
everybody; thanks for sharing those amazing stories. I know whoever's reading them is blessed by them.
Ed...thank your dear Scherie for me. That story about her poor brother really illustrates so well that verse...and in such profound ways.
Baysider...I hope that wave of challenges is over for along while.
And I feel myself a cog in something turning.
And maybe it's the time of year, yes, said maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am but life is for learning.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Z,
Thank you for forwarding that email.
Mr. AOW and I are in a real funk right now.
Over the years, I have become attached to certain cars that I've driven.
I am the daughter of an auto master mechanic, and, of course, Mr. AOW was a mechanic before the stroke that robbed him of the use of his dominant hand.
I've spent a lot of time in the garage. I can't swing the wrench, but I'm a decent diagnostician. In fact, I passed the ASE Certification Test on paper.
But giving up our Mustang is a blow much different from giving up other cars that I've owned. The Mustang was the first almost-new car I ever owned.
Furthermore, as a muscle car and a convertible, it has symbolic value for both Mr. AOW and me. We won't be making "Mustang memories" ever again.
A stage of our life has ended, and the stage we're in now isn't a pleasant one.
Imp; I think I sang something else to that 'carbon' line...never heard that line. You know sometimes we don't quite know the words so whatever fits phonetically and the right amount of syllables gets learned!
Good lyrics there.
AOW...I can so clearly see what that car meant to you and yes, it's not even "just a great car"...it's your "such a great life" that was part of it.
I'm SO very sorry.
Z,
Thank you for your condolences.
Something inside Mr. AOW and me has indeed died.
Post a Comment