As I stood in church this past Sunday, it hit me how tired I was… I often find myself in survival mode, doing whatever has to be done but not really living. But I’m starting to learn that to really live, to really experience life, we have to acknowledge the good and the bad… Not just live the good and survive the bad…
So as I considered how tired I was, an image came to mind from one of my trips to Africa…
I love this picture of the gogo (grandmother) chaffing the corn… I love the cloud of dry, useless chaff as it blows away… I love that the good part that’s left will nourish the children… I love that it only takes a gentle wind to blow the chaff away…
But then something hit me… There is so much more to that picture, something had to happen before the chaff could be separated… It’s the part that I don’t like to think about, it’s the part where I usually find myself struggling, or at the very least, just surviving… It’s the part where the corn has to be beaten, or threshed, so the chaff can be loosened.
So as I stood there on Sunday, I realized that that was why I’m so tired… Physically tired, but even more so emotionally… If you follow my blog, you know our oldest son was hurt pretty seriously a few weeks ago… But in addition to that, there has been a multitude of small, but unusual annoyances on top of it, not even worth listing, but draining on our finances, our time and even our sleep…
However, as I reflect back over the last few weeks, I can see that God truly has been taking this threshing from life and He has been gently blowing away the worthless attitudes, beliefs and habits that weigh me down and keep me from being the person He created me to be…(I’ll share more of that over the next couple of weeks…)
As we’ve walked through these last few weeks with Zack, I’ve learned something that I think will forever change my life… When tough things happen, I have a choice… I can let them rob me of so much…joy and peace… my faith and trust... OR I can take back from them… I can learn from them… I can grow in my relationship with my Abba Father and those around me… I can let God use them to shape me into the person He created me to be…
The bottom line is that when we submit to the ‘threshings’ of life, instead of resisting them, trying to escape from them or fighting against them, we WIN… what is intended for evil becomes an instrument to bring about good in our lives and the lives of others and ultimately it is used for the glory of God!
1 comment:
As a wife to a man with multiple health needs I so needed to be reminded of this today! Nevermind if the insurance co. will not pay for a much needed surgery. I will not let it rob me of my joy. GOD our Father will provide! Thanks and praying for your family.
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