As far as the fiery furnace, it’s not an “easy street” journey, but but the miracle is that God is working on me through every situation…the good, the bad & the ugly! I’m not sure I would’ve liked the person I might’ve become if I had not learned the lessons that I have on this walk. And I know that, without Him, I simply couldn’t do it. I feel so sad for people that don’t have the hope of Jesus Christ…how do they ever get through life?

A good friend of mine shared with me, God has never said that He would protect us FROM the fiery furnance but He promised that He would protect us THROUGH the fiery furnance. Thank you so much for sharing your story – thank you for the blessing – His Love and Grace is so obvious in your life!

Yes, I think God daily gives me lessons in perspective. See, I’m a mother to a special needs child…you can sometimes recognize us by the bags under our eyes and looks of desperation on our faces (I’m not entirely joking). Back in the fall of 2008, I was going through a really rough period of self-pity that was spiraling quickly into depression. I struggled with all of the things that I “couldn’t” do anymore because of this child that God had put into my life. I struggled with the fears of what her future would hold. I was sad for my older daughter because of the sacrifices she has to make. I felt like we’d never be a “normal” family again because we couldn’t go out to eat, go on vacations, or even go to church together as a family due to the issues my daughter has. It felt like I was doing battle on a daily basis with an enemy that had no name, face, or definition…..and I felt guilty about feeling all of these things because, after all, this was my daughter…..my precious, innocent baby.
Then, in October of that year, my little one got sick….really sick. She had a fever of 108 that wouldn’t respond to medications and all of a sudden she couldn’t walk at all. Because of her disability, she couldn’t even communicate to us where it hurt or what she was feeling. We spent 4 days at different hospitals running different tests and none of the doctors could figure out what was wrong. It was an extremely scary time. Finally, an orthopedic surgeon at CHOA figured it out. He ordered an MRI and a biopsy and discovered that she had a staph infection in her hip and thigh bones. She was going to be okay, she had to spend 6 days in the hospital and 5 weeks more on IV antibiotics, but we had answers and she was going to be okay. I was so thankful, but still so full of self-pity that we were having to deal with THIS on top of everything else.
Then I met a lady in the halls of the hospital who’s little girl was wheelchair bound and had a feeding tube. I met another family who had a daughter with a disorder that caused them to spend so much time at the hospital that they had to keep an apartment nearby & were struggling to pay for it all. And I met a couple who’s precious, smiling little boy was dying of cancer. While we were there, a child down the hall lost her battle and I witnessed the sheer grief and depair on the faces of her poor parents. I’ll never forget that moment. I prayed right then and there and begged God’s mercy for ever feeling sorry for myself, for whining about my circumstances, I prayed He’d forgive me for complaining because my child wasn’t “perfect”. I prayed He would change my perspective right then and there and continue working on me to keep my priorities in line with His will and what He has called me to do.

I will admit, however, that it’s still a daily struggle. But God is still working on my perspective and now, along with the bags under my eyes, I have a thick skin to go with it….but I also have a new outlook. Just yesterday my little girl screamed for 5 minutes at the bag-lady in Publix because she didn’t put something in the cart just the “right” way. But guess what? Last year she couldn’t even get through the doors of a store without screaming. My oldest daughter has to explain to her friends why her sister acts the way she does when they come over. But guess what? She is learning compassion and developing character that is hard to come by even in most adults. As a family, sure, there’s still a lot we can’t do that other families take for granted, but we are learning that most of those things just aren’t that important….and there’s a lot of freedom in that.
I read the “Message” version of the passage today in Phil. 3 and verse 19 stood out to me “Easy street is a dead-end street.” God has not called us to live a life on “easy” street. I’m so thankful for that and so thankful for all the lessons He has taught me. I’m glad that He sometimes takes us out into the “deep water” (I know I’m mixing metaphors here)….but it’s in the “deep water” that we have to depend on Him and not stand on our own two feet. The other thing that stood out to me today was verse 21…“We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.” Guess what? We are ALL imperfect before God……but He will make us beautiful and whole. This gives me hope today.

Your outlook on life at home and/or work is contagious! Personally, I know that my outlook is directly impacted by Jesus Christ and my relationship with Him. For far too long I allowed satan to impact my relationship by believing the lies he was telling me about Cindy’s health and God not caring. The reality is I serve an awesome God and I must learn to stop limiting Him through foolish choices and restrictions I try to impose on Him. When I look at whatever the challenge of the moment or the day is through the prism of His eyes, how can I not have a positive perspective? Your choices DO have an impact on you and those around you. My secretary just this morning commented on how amazing it is that I keep my sense of humor in spite of all the stuff that is going on both in and out of the office. My response was simple….without God, without Faith, I’d be a basket case.

I don’t profess that the circumstances and situations of every day are a joy, but I do empathically state that God DOES deliver on an unexplainable level of peace in the midst of the fiercest storms of life.

The Olympians have to give up a lot, train hard and live where their sport dictates. They would not have it any other way, because they live for the sheer joy of their sport. They could not be dedicated to all that hard work with out a real love for what they do. I want to be like them, I want to lean into my training and press on toward the goal. Having joy in the opportunities and challenges God gives me. Verse 13 says “straining toward what is ahead”. I saw the cross country racers in my head when I read that. The visual there is effort, grit and perseverance.

Today God has encouraged me by reminding me that living a heavenly minded life is not effortless. Sometimes you have to put the skis on in a blizzard, or when you are worn out or really busy. Just keep putting them on because there is joy with Christ, my forever friend, who will get me through the ups and downs of my training.

I can’t imagine how awesome the gold medal ceremony will be when I get to heaven. The truly amazing thing is that I don’t even deserve to be on the podium but I get to anyway. That is how God rolls, amazing grace for today and for forever.