Friday, March 11, 2011

What Are You Writing?

     I often listen to the book channel when I am driving. I do not get to listen to a whole book, only chapters here and there. The other day I heard a part of the book that I will never forget. The story was about a woman who was talking to her councilor. She had endured a very hard, hurtful life. She had become an addict and now she was trying to heal. The counselor told her to imagine that her life was a book with 600 pages. The first 400 pages have been written. It has already been lived and the story cannot change. However, the last 200 pages are yet to be written. She was asked what she wanted them to say. She can let them be a continuation of the first 400 pages or she could change the story. The decision was hers.

     It made me consider the many Christians who have had very dark and hard chapters written in their life book. Some get stuck and write the same chapter over and over: chapters of bitterness, doubt, anger, unforgiveness, etc. Others accept the strength, grace, power, and forgiveness from God and move on to a new story.
     What are you writing?

Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Ephesians 3:19-20



I know some of you could not listen to the song from Wednesday, so here are the words.

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for families
Protection while we sleep
We pray for healing
Prosperity
We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while you hear each spoken need
Your love is way too much to give us lesser things.
What if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing come through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near?
What if trials of this life is you mercy in disguise?
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel you near
We doubt your goodness
We doubt your love
As if every promise from your word is not enough
All the while you hear each desperate plea
When friends betray us!
When darkness seems to win
We know, that pain reminds this heart that this is not our home
What if the my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst?
This world can’t satisfy
What if the trial of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights are your mercy’s in disguise?

3 comments:

Mrs. T. said...

Thank you for the words to the song. Very true. You never know where your blessings are coming from. I have been praying for an answer to my knee problem for some time. God answered it, through Fusion church. I was to have it done in 2001 but husband passed away in Sept. and things got kind of jumbled up & financially was not an option any longer. In 2005 had serious health concerns, so had to put aside again. I'am so thankful I'll now be able to have it done, God willing. The pain at times has been very bad but when I thought that was going to get me down I just remembered the pain our Lord endured and mine didn't seem that important any more. We all have different forms of pain in various ways and thank the Lord for getting us through those trying times.

Steph said...

It makes me think of those moments where I couldn't imagine where the trial or pain would lead and then I look back at those moments and realize I guess what some would say blessings in disguise but they weren't in disguise at all. Just because they weren't wonderful things doesn't mean they aren't blessings.

Mrs. T. said...

I imagine Tonya has been quite busy the past few days, but I could not wait for her blog to tell you about the incrediable Sunday we had. As everyone knows little Gideon went home to be with the other angels. The love that was apparent in church Sunday was so special. Reminds me of the song lyrics that say surely the goodness of the Lord is in this place. You could feel his presence as if he were sitting right beside you. To talk about blessings in disguise.