This post has been on my facebook page for a few days, and I was having difficulty copying and pasting from one site to another. Anyway, here it is...hope you enjoy....
This may turn into a long post, but I will try to be concise. Most of you know that this has not been the greatest year for me. If you have failed to realize this then you must wear rose tinted glasses. Anyway, I have gone through some severe depression from having to resign from my job due to my health, which continued to decline. Recently thought I was ready to go back to work and was absolutely blown away by some comments that were made to me. I was humiliated to have to apply for disability. The depression just got worse and worse. I have been in a very dark place. Well there are three things that happened to me over this weekend that tell me that 2011 is not going to be that way.
The first thing that happened was I had the pleasure of hearing a group called Crystal River, www.chrystalriveronline.net. A trio of guys who are on fire on for the Lord. Everyone song they sang I needed to hear. One song in particular, My History is Not My Destiny, really slapped me all in the face. I have done things in my past that I am not proud of, but I know that I am a child of the King. All of that mess I created is gone - forgiven and forgotten. I have to let it go.
The second thing that happened was a sermon I listened to on Sunday morning. The preacher at Frazier United Methodist Church in Montgomery is awesome. He preached about all the times in the Bible where God refers to himself as the Light. He talked about the Light will never be put out by the darkness. How we have so much darkness in our lives due to losing a job, having failing health, depression beyond your control, disappointed in your kids and their behaviors - hello are you talking to me? I mean there are over a 1000 people in that church and he is all in my face. The one thing he said that stuck with me is this statement, "What better gift to give Jesus this Christmas season than all your darkness...He can handle it....Let Him bring light into your life." That really stuck with me. Why am I hanging on to all this junk that I can't do anything about? Why am I not leaning on Him rather than myself - I think there is a Bible verse about that. :) I looked up how many times the word "light" is used in the Bible - 232 times where darkness is used 163 times. Even in the Bible, light takes over.
The third thing that happened was I read Beth Moore's blog - per ususal. Well she is a phenomenol Christian, teacher and woman. She is a firm believer in memorizing verses. Her theory is that if you have a plethera of verses in your head, you can pull one out at any time to fit your situation. This could be while ministering to another person, your having a bad day or you want to give glory to God for something He has worked out in your life. So she suggested taking a spiral bound index card and using it for memorizing verses that apply to your life. To do this you would memorize 2 verses a month. In addition she suggested to get an accountability partner who will do the same thing. Each one will hold the other accountable for memorizing their verses. (Well I picked another awesome Christian, Becky. She was my college roommate and kept me straight!) Anyway my verses for the year are going to be all about light. If it is used 232 times in the Bible then surely I can come up with 24 verses about light and how He will guide, guard and keep us in every situation we have. There may still be darkness that comes into my life in this New Year, but I am going to have a weapon ready for it.
I know this is kind of lengthy, but I just felt I had to share. So many people have been an encouragement to me, and I know they too must face darkness in their life at times. I want to be that person who can encourage in the New Year. I want to thank each person who reads this for all the encouragement you have given me this year. I hope I can return the gift....
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