Tag: faith

A Season of Anticipation

 

I’m somewhat of a country girl. 🙂 I grew up on a long, dead-end street where it took about fifteen minutes to get to the nearest convenience store. But I didn’t mind. It was what I was used to, and I learned to love many things about living in that area.

Today was a little different, as I had to go into the city for a doctor’s appointment. Now there’s nothing wrong with the city–I enjoy visiting once in a while, and there are many benefits for those who live there. But it’s just not my usual surroundings! So I felt quite out of place. A little nervous, a little uneasy…especially while driving.

On my way home from my appointment, I found myself looking for familiar landmarks. Something, ANYTHING, that would make me feel like I was getting close to home. I anticipated the turns I made onto each street, and celebrated when I caught sight of a store or a building that I recognized. I was looking forward to what was to come: reaching my familiar surroundings!

Photo credit: Jamie Trueblood, AP

I’m sure that there must have been great anticipation that led up to the birth of Christ. As different events occurred, people must have gotten more and more excited for what was to come. As all of the prophesies fell into place, a sense of eagerness probably grew to meet this Christ child.

Are you cultivating a sense of anticipation this Christmas season? Are you being mindful of what the season represents, and what it means for those who know Jesus as Savior, and for the rest of the world?

I ask myself this, and I pray that I will savor this special time of remembrance. That I will make time for stillness, for thoughtfulness, for quietness of mind and heart.

That I will make room for the Savior in my everyday moments. I don’t want this time to pass me by.

Will you share in this sense of anticipation with me by remembering Christ’s birth? Will you take time to consider what He ultimately came to do on this earth? Let us be filled will awe and amazement at the wonder of our gracious Father, who sent His only Son to redeem us, so that we can spend eternity in His loving presence.

Stone of Remembrance

This morning, after speaking to my Mother and then reading a devotional from Our Daily Bread, I was challenged to remember. Remember what God has brought me through; the battles He has already helped me overcome; the times that I so strongly wanted to give up, and yet God enabled me to keep going.

It’s so easy to forget those times.

It’s so easy to continue through life from one day to the next, focusing on our present difficulties and not taking the time to remember the victories that God has already accomplished in our lives.

But it’s in remembering that we gain the strength to push past our present difficulties and move forward.

After I completed a 12 week mental health program in September of this year, my small group held a little ceremony, and I was given the opportunity to choose a stone from a box. A stone that would help me to remember the time that I had spent in the program, and all that I had learned. It was meant to be a physical representation of this time in my life: of the struggles I faced, the hard work and effort I put into my recovery, the relationships that I built with my doctor, therapists, and group members–of the fact that I had reached the end of this specific journey and was now moving on to the next.

God has always been there for me. He has never let me down. Yes, there were–and still are–many times when I feel like I won’t be able to get through whatever it is I’m struggling with. Times when I prayed and prayed, yet felt like I received no clear answer from God. Times when I even doubted God, or got angry with Him, because it seemed like He wasn’t there, wasn’t helping me.

But the truth was–and IS–that God is there. He is with me. He is guiding me, strengthening me, encouraging me. Giving me the insight and wisdom that I need to make life decisions. Giving me the grace and mercy that I need when I mess up (and there are so many times that I mess up)! Giving me the understanding, acceptance, and compassion that I deeply long for, when I feel alone and misunderstood.

He is there for YOU today.

Take a moment to review your past experiences and to remember the difficulties that God has brought you through. There are most likely many circumstances that He has helped you to overcome! That same God–the God who helped you in times past–is with you today. And He will help you face the challenges of tomorrow. ❤

Bigger Than Every Battle

Have you ever felt like the battle that you are facing is too big for you?

I know that I have felt this way–AM feeling this way, actually, with certain situations in my life.

And the truth is, the battle that we’re going through probably IS too big for us to handle–on our own.

But it’s not too big to handle, with God’s help!

So whatever battle you’re facing today: whether it be physical pain, mental anguish, a family member who is hurting, a friend who needs help, financial difficulties, health problems, relationship struggles–or any number of things…

Remember, along with me, that God is:

Bigger than any battle I’m facing
Better than anything I’ve been chasing
Savior and royalty, the only hope in me
Jesus, You are, You are
The King of my heart, heart

~”King of My Heart,” by Love and the Outcome

“The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

~ Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Photo credit: wallpapersbuzz.com