What a Day this has been! I got to spend time with a couple of ladies early this morning. We are working together to plan a ladies retreat for women in our area, which will happen in April. What an honor it is for me to get to work with them, learn from them, and be inspired by them. They are great friends to each other, and have a great time where ever they are! --Such blessing to my life! Thanks, Debbie & Earline!
Then, I arrived back in town just in time to have lunch with two of my 'small group girls'...MORE blessings! We can laugh and cry with each other, and that's pretty much what we did!
After lunch, I met with a neat couple that are new to our area, and new to our church. How much fun we had trading nuggets from scripture...I think I got the better trade...not certain I left any behind...but I took out a 'whole wheel barrow full of treasures' they shared with me! They both have so much wisdom and knowledge that they are willing to share. So, from the time I spent with them, I was both inspired to go deeper in study and challenged to trust my God even more! And, be very much in awe of my Abba, Father's timing and provision for friends in my life!! Thanks, Jackie & Nancy!
Now, it's time to reflect on last night: Our second session of GriefShare. This stuff of grief is hard work. My prayer is always that those that are traveling this road of grief learn to trust God with their pain, depending on HIM for thier comfort and not become dependant on anything else to 'numb' or 'mask' the pain.
One of the most important things I learned was to Praise God through the pain. That could sound, perhaps a little condescending...but stay with me...there is truth there. Since the enemy wants us to stay in our grief...(to stay stuck there asking questions like 'why me?' or 'why now?' or 'why____?') he makes up all kinds of lies to tell us. However, when we are praising Our God...the One True Living God...the Lover of Our Souls...the enemy has NO power there, and the lies cannot touch us. God is honored in our praises...and He honors that with His presence.
Praise Him. He is worthy.
Even when you can't see Him working, you must trust that He is still working.
Seek Truth. Seek His Face. He is Faithful!
4 comments:
Our church has gone through a lot of grieving in the last year. I love reading about the GriefShare. I'll have to get more info about that sometime... not sure if it's something you created yourself or available online??
I thought I would create something myself...but why re-inivent the wheel...ESCC already offered DivorceCare, which is ChurchInitiative programming.
I talked about what we do, last week, but you can go to the web-site www.griefshare.org and find more information about a group close to you, or how to start a group. Thanks for the encouragement!
We are inspired by you, too! Your joy, smile and commitment to the Lord are wonderfully refreshing. We praise God for this opportunity to serve Him and grow closer to other women we may never meet otherwise. Thanks for blessing our lives as well! :)
When you posted the line "Even when you can't see Him working, you must trust that He is still working." It made me stop and think about the way things have been going in my life. I tend to forget that he is working, even if I don't think or feel that he is. Thanks for the reminder!
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