Reason #883
This was never supposed to happen to you. It wasn't part of the plan. No one ever really expects those things to happen anyway. Sure, you hear about it on the news or your co-worker tells you about a friend's brother's in-law's neighbor that it happened to. But you never saw this coming. Never guessed that it'd be your reality. These things are only stories you hear about, not the ones you have to live through. But now, this is your story, and getting through it doesn't seem possible.
You never thought you'd be the woman whose husband left her. You never, ever thought your story would have a hint of betrayal to it. You also thought pregnancy was easy. It was supposedly a given, but that doesn't seem to be the case for you. Barrenness wasn't what you imagined for yourself. You didn't think you'd actually lose your job. Sure, people lose their jobs every day, but you never saw yourself as one of those people. There was never supposed to be a gap in your resume. Cancer wasn't on your radar, either. You've known a lot of people that have battled illness, but that's one fight you didn't anticipate having. You never thought your home would be devastated in a storm, you never expected to lose your loved one like that, and if we're being totally honest, you pretty much assumed that your life was going to be good and easy, free of struggle. The truth is, it's far from what you expected.
Things happen, and sometimes they happen to us. It's devastating. A low blow that knocks us completely off of our feet. And as we're lying flat on our backs, trying to catch our breath, trying to make sense of the mess, we can't help but wonder why. Why us? What did we do to deserve this, to cause this? Why is this happening? This stuff doesn't happen to "people like us," right? We're God's children, thus leading us to slightly believe that we are exempt from tragedy. Life isn't suppose to deal us this hand. Deal it to someone else, we think. Don't make us endure this heartache. It isn't fair. It isn't what we asked for. We've prayed for a different outcome, hoping and believing with all our hearts that it would turn out as requested, and yet the opposite is taking place. God is allowing us to lose the very thing we don't want to give up, to walk through something that is so humiliating, hurtful, scary, and uncertain, and we can't seem to wrap our minds around it.
But it's a part of the story. A part of your story. Let's be real, a good story is full of emotion. The stories we love make us anticipate the outcome. We know it is going to end good, that's a promise. It's just getting there that is the mystery. And so the journey requires different things from us at different times. You can only walk up a mountain for so long, and you can only walk in the valley for so long. But have you ever thought that in these painful moments that aren't supposed to be happening to you, God is preparing you for something else? Maybe this is just the start of an incredible journey for you. Maybe this a turning point. Maybe God is preparing you to meet and minster to someone else who has gone through the same thing, or maybe He's allowing this to happen for the benefit of those watching. Just think about the example you are setting. Just think about the testimony you are living out. Think about how God is being glorified because you're choosing to cling to Him, to proclaim His goodness, regardless of your circumstances. And, if it isn't for those things, maybe it's because this is where God is going to work in your life. This is where He is going to refine and change you. Your heart is breaking, but He's going to put it back together. He's going to create something new and beautiful. It's true, He really is. And so anticipate what God is going to do through this, because of this. Anticipate the incredible things that you will learn, and look forward to how God is going to use you as you faithfully follow Him.
You will get through it. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you will. And if you'll let Him carry you through it, the journey will be much sweeter. You might lose some things along the way. You might have to give some things up. You may cry your eyes out, and you may have a hard time getting there. But He'll get you there. To that spot where you can look back and see it. To that spot where you begin to put the pieces together. It's all a part of the bigger picture. You are a part of the bigger picture and, with it all, He is creating a masterpiece.
#883 - Because He takes the things that weren't supposed to happen and weaves them into His masterpiece.
"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10
You never thought you'd be the woman whose husband left her. You never, ever thought your story would have a hint of betrayal to it. You also thought pregnancy was easy. It was supposedly a given, but that doesn't seem to be the case for you. Barrenness wasn't what you imagined for yourself. You didn't think you'd actually lose your job. Sure, people lose their jobs every day, but you never saw yourself as one of those people. There was never supposed to be a gap in your resume. Cancer wasn't on your radar, either. You've known a lot of people that have battled illness, but that's one fight you didn't anticipate having. You never thought your home would be devastated in a storm, you never expected to lose your loved one like that, and if we're being totally honest, you pretty much assumed that your life was going to be good and easy, free of struggle. The truth is, it's far from what you expected.
Things happen, and sometimes they happen to us. It's devastating. A low blow that knocks us completely off of our feet. And as we're lying flat on our backs, trying to catch our breath, trying to make sense of the mess, we can't help but wonder why. Why us? What did we do to deserve this, to cause this? Why is this happening? This stuff doesn't happen to "people like us," right? We're God's children, thus leading us to slightly believe that we are exempt from tragedy. Life isn't suppose to deal us this hand. Deal it to someone else, we think. Don't make us endure this heartache. It isn't fair. It isn't what we asked for. We've prayed for a different outcome, hoping and believing with all our hearts that it would turn out as requested, and yet the opposite is taking place. God is allowing us to lose the very thing we don't want to give up, to walk through something that is so humiliating, hurtful, scary, and uncertain, and we can't seem to wrap our minds around it.
But it's a part of the story. A part of your story. Let's be real, a good story is full of emotion. The stories we love make us anticipate the outcome. We know it is going to end good, that's a promise. It's just getting there that is the mystery. And so the journey requires different things from us at different times. You can only walk up a mountain for so long, and you can only walk in the valley for so long. But have you ever thought that in these painful moments that aren't supposed to be happening to you, God is preparing you for something else? Maybe this is just the start of an incredible journey for you. Maybe this a turning point. Maybe God is preparing you to meet and minster to someone else who has gone through the same thing, or maybe He's allowing this to happen for the benefit of those watching. Just think about the example you are setting. Just think about the testimony you are living out. Think about how God is being glorified because you're choosing to cling to Him, to proclaim His goodness, regardless of your circumstances. And, if it isn't for those things, maybe it's because this is where God is going to work in your life. This is where He is going to refine and change you. Your heart is breaking, but He's going to put it back together. He's going to create something new and beautiful. It's true, He really is. And so anticipate what God is going to do through this, because of this. Anticipate the incredible things that you will learn, and look forward to how God is going to use you as you faithfully follow Him.
You will get through it. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you will. And if you'll let Him carry you through it, the journey will be much sweeter. You might lose some things along the way. You might have to give some things up. You may cry your eyes out, and you may have a hard time getting there. But He'll get you there. To that spot where you can look back and see it. To that spot where you begin to put the pieces together. It's all a part of the bigger picture. You are a part of the bigger picture and, with it all, He is creating a masterpiece.
#883 - Because He takes the things that weren't supposed to happen and weaves them into His masterpiece.
"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." - Ephesians 2:10
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