Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Learning from Life's Hardships

In the heat of the moment, we tend to hate all the difficult things we may be going through but I think most will agree that once the storm has passed and that beautiful clear sky is shown, it becomes all too apparent that it was worth it. I hope some of my experiences can help get you through your moments.

Firstly, you can't save or rescue anyone from the life they have chosen. You can pray for them, with them and even speak gospel to them but change comes through a stirring of the spirit in combination with a softening of the heart and an opening of the eyes. No matter how desperately you desire to "fix" them and make their life more "Godly", it's not your job. If God can make the very mountains tremble at his name, then he most certainly  can shake a sinful person to their core.

I say this because I've had many times of experiencing this and it caused great pain and grief. It's so hard to watch someone make the same decisions over and over again. Maybe you have a friend who always seems to date abusive guys and try as you may, you constantly try to convince her to leave the relationship and pursue someone who truly has their best interest at heart. Maybe your friend even allows you to slip in a little gospel mention during these times. It's still ultimately her decision to return to the same personality type. This situation brings to mind Proverbs 26:11 which says "As a dog returns to it's vomit, so a fool repeats his folly".

Please pray for those people in your life that you know aren't walking an upright life. It doesn't matter if it's porn addiction, sex, drugs, chain smoking, alcohol or any other addiction, our Father can break those chains. He is capable of crushing our chains. Believe that he can set you free or whoever it is that comes to you mind. Weep for them. Intercede for them. Your not just twiddling your thumbs but are seeking your Father in heaven to intervene with their stronghold.

This brings me to another area that caused me such great pain and discouragement. When I was a younger Christian, my husband desperately wanted to be involved in some form of evangelical outreach even if it were just a simple bible study. So, here I was being presented with the reality that we were being elbowed (or so it felt that way for me) into holding a bible study in our little neighborhood. To say the least, I was not pleased with this. Numerous times I was told that we as Christians are expected to do outreach to the unsaved and that this type of event was normal. It wasn't normal for someone who spent most of their life cooped up and kept away from the harsh realities outside my front yard.

What may be "normal" for one Christian just might not be normal for the other. But at this time my husband was enthusiastic about the whole idea and I saw it as an opportunity to cook and play host to those who didn't know God. I really had no freaking clue what I was getting myself involved in. I wished that I had a time machine so that I could go back to the mere moments of saying yes to the bible study. Why? Because I would like to have kicked myself square in the ass. A boot to the rear would have saved me such pain and suffering. What I went through over the next two or so years, was some of the worst experiences of my life. I put myself out there to try and care for others and got used as if I were of little value. It's not a rarity for us to be treated badly, in fact we are told that we are going to be treated that way, thanks to knowing Christ.

I know I sound as if I'm trying to discourage outreach and involvement into ministry but in truth, I just want you to know exactly what you are getting involved in. This isn't some fairy tale where everything goes smoothly and perfectly. Probe your heart before you jump at the opportunity to get involved within a ministry. Do you have some baggage that perhaps needs to be dealt with beforehand? Do you just desire to find a group of people to fit into? Are you seeking praise and attention for your good deeds? Dig deep into your heart and ask God to reveal any false intentions or ideas. Take your time and see where God would lead you to be involved. And don't be discouraged if it takes awhile before God reveals to you where you should go because he may be prepping you during that time to deal with some nasty stuff in the near future.

And finally, my most recent revelation came from my new found hobby of gardening. This week I noticed that some of my squash plants looked rather sad and for some reason had stopped producing flowers. I leaned down to take noticed that there was some disgusting puree looking substance at the base of a few of them. I decided to sacrifice one just so that I could get a better view of what was going on inside. I split the plant open with my knife to discover a nasty fat caterpillar inside and that puree substance was in fact it's poop. So, I promptly inspected every squash plant and removed any plants that looked as though they were infected. I lost about four or five yellow squash plants and about 2-3 zucchini plants.

To say that I was crushed is an understatement. I think the final crushing blow was to read that instead of uprooting the plants, I could simply slice them open with a box cutter, remove the bug and then cover the slit with soil. I took a hearty look at my garden and just wanted to say "I Give Up!". My plants have been attacked by Volkswagen sized caterpillars, massive grasshopers exposed to chemical waste and voracious moths. I have worked so hard and all I wanted to do was provide food for my family and friends like that Proverbs 31 chick.

It was at that very moment I realized something so deeply important. Chris and I wanted to purchase a huge piece of property and start a Christian community that provides it's own sustenance as well as being able to sell off extra produce. If I just spent the money and ran into this venture without seeing what farming was really like, it would have been a total waste. Despite the size of my little garden it provides me with a harsh reality that farmers accept every single day. You never know what life will bring you. "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get". Boy, ain't that sure true. I learned a harsh lesson about squash growing but I did so in a small scale.

So my darlings, count those times as blessings! Those little painful moments are tough to swallow but God always allows for us to learn something.  Keep trudging forward in life because you never know what good might be just around the corner. 

1 Peter 4:12-13
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."