The Worst Day Since Yesterday...

Ever have one of those days where you just wish there was a reset button? A day where you just wish you could crawl back into bed and have a do-over? A day where you just close your eyes and hope that the world stops spinning for just a second so you can catch your breath and gain your balance once more?  Ever have that day turn into a bigger chunk of time?

When we were going through everything with Brian, it seemed to be a never-ending string of those days. When the first incident kicked over the first domino of doom, it seemed like nothing could top that event. But then it was one thing after another. After each event, my daddy would cradle me in His arms and say "It can't get any worse!" After the third fairly huge event, I looked into his eyes, put my hand gently over his mouth, and begged him to stop saying that! It seemed to be a challenge to the universe to find something bigger than the last thing that happened. Every event, whether it was big or small, seemed to threaten to bring me to my knees. And some of the events did, both literally and figuratively. There came a point where I would throw my hands up in the air and giggle, not knowing how else to react. Not wanting to think about dealing with one more thing. I was quickly sliding to the end of my rope. 

I have been a Christian almost my whole life, but I have become immersed in my faith and my feelings towards God recently, in the last couple years. For a while on my journey I was spinning my wheels, unsure of who exactly might have been in charge. I was thankful to be able to lean on my God, but I don't know if I took it very seriously. I worked very hard to try and handle things on my own.  I worked hard to fix things and let people see that I was tough and strong and brave and could handle anything.  Occasionally I'd throw up a prayer or two, but honestly there was a lot of "Why me" and "Seriously, I think I'm good in the tragedy department" thrown into the mix. He walked me through those times, but it wasn't until recently that my heart was set ablaze by His goodness and grace and mercy and I realized just how good life could be with Him!

Does being a daughter of the King mean that I am protected from tragedy? No...Does being a follower of God mean that I don't still reel and grieve the loses I have experienced? Not at all...Does knowing Jesus and my Lord and personal Saviour mean that every day is hunky dory? Nope...but all of those things above have gifted me with the strength and faith and resiliency to know that every step I take is hand-crafted and planned by Father God. Each moment of my time here on earth is orchestrated by Him, to help me walk with Him in faith and hope and peace and love. All of the moments of my life, the good and the bad, are placed in my life exactly when I need them, to either teach me, train me, prepare me, or grow me up in my faith in Him. 

I am so glad that I had God to walk me through those dark times in my life. Even though many times it seemed to be a half-hearted following of God, I was still loved and protected and carried by my Heavenly Father. 

How about now? Sometimes it seems that things get stacked up again. A friend who is my other family receives a devastating diagnosis. I watch them and love them and support them through their journey the best that I can, but I also watch them have one thing after another happen to them. A car accident. A flat tire. A broken microwave. A power outage. Little things it seems, but when you're dealing with one big thing the little things seem to threaten to take you down. Satan and his minions at work to try and unsteady the faith, tear apart the peace, steal, kill, and destroy however they can. But, my friend and prayer partner, walked me through my journey. We have become stronger everyday through all of our steps together. We can see the bigger picture and know that even though this might be the worst day since yesterday, it's not a big deal when you are walking with the Lord. I see my journey and the pain and heartache that I went through, and I praise God for those days because it made me stronger in my faith, stronger in my resiliency, stronger everyday! And it lined me up perfectly to be able to walk my friends and family through this journey, and any other journey we may come upon. 

So, worst day since yesterday? Not a big deal! We are in training! We have faith!  We know that God will use this situation for a greater good and that we will see that God is on the move, in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives, in our communities. We have an opportunity to find beauty from ashes, in Jesus's name! We have an opportunity to love and grow and help others in His kingdom to do the same!  We have an opportunity to take our bad days, our tragic moments, and turn them into days of love and peace and hope and faith! We choose to have faith and walk in faith and to share our faith!

We will also have bad days...we will have days when we cry and grieve and maybe stomp our feet and ask "why me" and declare "enough already!" But by the grace of God, we will remember that He is there, in the midst of our bad days. He is there, counting every tear that we shed. He is there, holding our hands and walking us through the tough days. 

We choose to be stronger everyday, even in the days that are worse than yesterday. Those days? Those days we drop to our knees and ask Father God to lead us, and guide us, and protect us. And humbly ask Him to use is as an example and a light of faith and hope and peace and love to others. For even in the tough times, we choose to thank and praise His most Holy name! 1 John 5:5 says, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God." We believe! We have faith! We join together in love and praise and worship and prayer! And our faith will overcome the troubles of the world! 

Worst day since yesterday? What a blessing to know we get another opportunity to praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! How blessed we are! Another day...another day to be stronger...