Reason #794
We went to see a movie and have dinner with some friends from our bible study group tonight. The beauty and challenge of our group is that it is ever changing. We have our "regulars" and a few who have been with us from the start. But, we have had a lot of change due to the stage of life we're in, and so we've met a whole lot of people over the past two years.
The people who started out the bible study with me know my testimony. I shared it with everyone up front, but I really don't tell people about it that often anymore unless it's necessary. I think I used to share so often because I just felt like people could see 'divorced' written across my forehead. But now that Aaron and I have been married for almost a year, a lot of the new people to our bible study don't know anything about my past. All they know is us, and I absolutely love that. And really, that's what I looked forward to. I couldn't wait until the day people only knew me as Brittnye Davis, and I'm grateful that day is here.
But tonight at dinner, the topic of bible study came up. We were asked how and when the study got started, so I started at the top. I shared a tiny bit of my testimony, not with the usual amount of detail, right up to when Aaron and I started teaching the class together. I can always tell people are a little bit surprised to hear this story for the first time, but I've come to the point where it no longer bothers me to share. I don't concern myself with being the thought of being judged because I figure actions speak louder than words. I just let my life speak for itself because God's work is more of a testimony than anything I could say. And, truth be told, were it not for God's obviously redemptive work in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I remember coming home from church two years ago in March. I had just tried the 'singles' class for the first time, and it was clear that the class was not a good fit for me. I had such high hopes that this was where I would finally find a group of people to connect with, and that Sunday morning, my bubble of hope was popped. I drove to my parents' house for lunch after church. I walked in and my mom said, "Well, how'd it go?" Tears streamed down my face, and that was telling enough. I thought, "I'll never find a place to belong. I'll never find any friends. I'll never fit in, and I'll never meet anyone."
Tonight, after we got home, Aaron and I spent a good hour talking about how much our lives have changed in the past two years. Because two years ago, I didn't know Aaron. Two years ago, I didn't have my Sunday school class. Two years ago, I had a different job. And two years ago, I didn't have a clue how sweet the plans were that God had in store for me. Yet during that time, it seemed as if things would never changed. It seemed like life was dragging by and I was going to be stuck in that season forever. Two years ago seems just like yesterday, and had you told me then where I'd be two years down the road, I would have said you were crazy.
Time is nothing to God. He can do things in an instant, or He can stretch them out for an eternity. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul references our trails as "light and momentary troubles," and although they don't seem like at the time, that is exactly what they are. Because when I look back, that increment of time is over and it didn't last that long. Truthfully, it passed pretty quickly. Seeing how much God accomplished during that short period of time makes me wonder what He has in store for the next two years. Yet it's hard to see the future when you have no idea what it holds, and so Paul tells us to "fix our eyes not on what it seen, but what is unseen." Because it's the unseen places where God is working and moving. It's the promise of a hopeful future that we fix our eyes upon because, although we have no idea what it holds, we know God is going before us and preparing the way. And we believe it, even if we can't see it, because we know that God is faithful and He never fails.
Two year isn't that long. Two years can drag by, or it can fly by. Yet when you fix your eyes on the things unseen, on hope, on truth, on God's promises, you realize that somehow you get through it no matter what the speed. Somehow time passes, and you look back and realize God's goodness has been with you all along.
#794 - For His goodness that has always been with us.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The people who started out the bible study with me know my testimony. I shared it with everyone up front, but I really don't tell people about it that often anymore unless it's necessary. I think I used to share so often because I just felt like people could see 'divorced' written across my forehead. But now that Aaron and I have been married for almost a year, a lot of the new people to our bible study don't know anything about my past. All they know is us, and I absolutely love that. And really, that's what I looked forward to. I couldn't wait until the day people only knew me as Brittnye Davis, and I'm grateful that day is here.
But tonight at dinner, the topic of bible study came up. We were asked how and when the study got started, so I started at the top. I shared a tiny bit of my testimony, not with the usual amount of detail, right up to when Aaron and I started teaching the class together. I can always tell people are a little bit surprised to hear this story for the first time, but I've come to the point where it no longer bothers me to share. I don't concern myself with being the thought of being judged because I figure actions speak louder than words. I just let my life speak for itself because God's work is more of a testimony than anything I could say. And, truth be told, were it not for God's obviously redemptive work in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I remember coming home from church two years ago in March. I had just tried the 'singles' class for the first time, and it was clear that the class was not a good fit for me. I had such high hopes that this was where I would finally find a group of people to connect with, and that Sunday morning, my bubble of hope was popped. I drove to my parents' house for lunch after church. I walked in and my mom said, "Well, how'd it go?" Tears streamed down my face, and that was telling enough. I thought, "I'll never find a place to belong. I'll never find any friends. I'll never fit in, and I'll never meet anyone."
Tonight, after we got home, Aaron and I spent a good hour talking about how much our lives have changed in the past two years. Because two years ago, I didn't know Aaron. Two years ago, I didn't have my Sunday school class. Two years ago, I had a different job. And two years ago, I didn't have a clue how sweet the plans were that God had in store for me. Yet during that time, it seemed as if things would never changed. It seemed like life was dragging by and I was going to be stuck in that season forever. Two years ago seems just like yesterday, and had you told me then where I'd be two years down the road, I would have said you were crazy.
Time is nothing to God. He can do things in an instant, or He can stretch them out for an eternity. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul references our trails as "light and momentary troubles," and although they don't seem like at the time, that is exactly what they are. Because when I look back, that increment of time is over and it didn't last that long. Truthfully, it passed pretty quickly. Seeing how much God accomplished during that short period of time makes me wonder what He has in store for the next two years. Yet it's hard to see the future when you have no idea what it holds, and so Paul tells us to "fix our eyes not on what it seen, but what is unseen." Because it's the unseen places where God is working and moving. It's the promise of a hopeful future that we fix our eyes upon because, although we have no idea what it holds, we know God is going before us and preparing the way. And we believe it, even if we can't see it, because we know that God is faithful and He never fails.
Two year isn't that long. Two years can drag by, or it can fly by. Yet when you fix your eyes on the things unseen, on hope, on truth, on God's promises, you realize that somehow you get through it no matter what the speed. Somehow time passes, and you look back and realize God's goodness has been with you all along.
#794 - For His goodness that has always been with us.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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