Thinking Out Loud

Have you ever had something absolutely tragic happen to you or something incredibly amazing and thought to yourself, "Wow, I cannot believe this is my life." Life is full of unexpected twists and turns that usually leave us feeling either hopeless and confused, or joyful and excited. Throughout my life I've had this same reoccurring thought. After my father passed away, I was in complete shock and denial. I couldn't believe that I had become a child who lost a parent. I remember thinking to myself, "I cannot believe this is my life." Then I had the thought again when my family joined with another, and again after struggling with anxiety, insecurity, and grief. Yet after every season of my life, whether full of pain or joy, I am reminded of the goodness of the Lord. There are those sweet moments in our life when our greatest burdens become our greatest blessings. Sometimes our disbelief of reality comes from a place of hurt, but the knowledge of God's

A few weeks ago in church, we had an incredible service full of worship and breakthrough. God's sweet, sweet presence was so evident in that service. Through a servant's obedience a testimony was shared, and then another one from a different member of the church. Both testimonies touched my heart deeply, but one thing was said in one of the testimonies that has stuck with me and encouraged me to publish this blog. The statement is as follows: "God brought me through it!" As soon as I heard that statement, it started ringing through my ears. I could not help but to feel so overjoyed by everything that God has brought me through. It really made me start to think of everything I have gone through in the past five years of my life. I began to ponder every setback, every trial, every challenge, and how God was there with me through it all. "God brought me through it," those words are extremely powerful because they shift your focus from your circumstance to y