Something New

I've said for years that I wanted to start writing again... it's funny how time seems to allude us!  Life has a way of taking us for a ride. My ride has been filled with ups and downs, twists and turns and plunges that seemed to never end.  The greatest blessing in it all has been the FAITH that the light at the end of the tunnel is never completely out of reach.


The last 4 years have been filled with tragedy and loss, but in the midst of the darkness there have been sweet moments of victory and joy, grace and mercy and much growth.  I have come to believe that it is in our darkest valleys that we grow the most.  It's in those moments alone in the dark that God's light shines brightest.  It is those times that we see God clearly, where we learn to be Still and Listen.  


A new friend asked if I had a Blog where I shared my testimony and the story of our lives.  I guess I have not created a blog before now because I thought I didn't have much to share.  Now I can see, through God's Grace, that I was wrong.  
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says:
³  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.


As Christians, we can expect to suffer as Christ did, but also.. as Christians we are never without Hope.  God is with us through it all.  As I have come through to the other side of suffering, I can see now that He used all the circumstances we have endured not only to strengthen us, but also to give Hope and Strength to others who are in the midst of their own storms.


The greatest lesson I've learned can be summed in a passage that has come to mean much to me:
2 Corinthians 4:7-9
⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We areafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.


Our circumstances do not define who we are, our Heart does!  I take joy in the trials we have come through because without them, I would not have come to know my Savior with such intimacy, now would I have come to truly trust and rely on Him for all things.  He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me!  I couldn't always see Him while I was standing in the middle of the storm, but I can look back now and see the Fingerprints of God all over our lives.  He never once let us walk alone!


So as this first post comes to an end.... I pray that there will be someone out there that finds hope in these words and will come along with me on this new journey.... as I share "The story of us" just 4u!


"Until the Whole World Hears......"
~Heather