Weathering the Storms

Hi Ladies! I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to get to chat with you guys. I do not take this opportunity lightly.

When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to chat with you guys about, God kept saying talk about weathering the storm. I didn’t really want to because we are going through the aftermath of a storm right now and I don’t feel qualified to talk about this, but in true fashion He kept bringing it up. Then it hit me, I don’t have to talk about the storm we are going through right now, I have been through a ton of storms. By storms I mean things or situations in your life that can tear you down and take you away from God if you allow them to. Things like Divorce, miscarriages, not being able to have children, death of a child, or loved one etc, etc.

So, today I am going to chat with you about the storm of divorce. Ladies, I fell in love when I was 17 years old with the man I just knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I mean I loved him with every fiber of my being. I met him through church and he was going to be a preacher one day. We dated for 2 years and then got married when I was 19. I remember the day like it was yesterday, not because of the wedding itself though. I remember it because as my dad was getting ready to walk me down the aisle he said “Punkin, you do not have to do this. We can walk out this door right now and no one would be mad.” I remember thinking to myself I should probably do that and then my heart stepped in and said “you can change him.”  So, instead of walking out that back door like my brain and gut told me I should, I listened to that deceitful heart and walked down that aisle.

It didn’t take too long into our marriage before I figured out why my gut and brain were telling me to walk out that door. I went to Illinois for the weekend and came home to roses on the table which for him meant, I have something to tell you. He did alright, come to find out he had been cheating on me. If you have ever been in that spot then you know the pain that you experience when you hear those words. Of course, he had all of the right words to say like, it will never happen again, and I am so sorry, and I love you so much. Blah, Blah, Blah (I can say that now).  I of course believed him and hung on every word because remember, I loved him with every fiber of my being. Ladies, for 5 years I let this go on, he would cheat on me and I would believe those same words. 5 YEARS!!!!!!  That is not the worst part, we got a divorce after 5 years (I literally signed our divorce papers on our anniversary) and I still let him come around, because I loved him and he loved me (or so he said). Ladies, I let this guy take 3 more years of my life after that divorce. Let me tell you why, I was so in love with him and I knew God could change anyone if they wanted to be changed. Now, remember he was going to Bible College to be a preacher when I met him so I just knew that God would change him for me. God can and could’ve changed him for me but he didn’t want to be changed. Finally, one early morning about 4:00am, I was waiting for him to come home and guess what, he didn’t show up. It was then, I realized he was never going to change and it was like God said to me you have tried everything you could to make this relationship work and it is not going to happen. Finally, after 8 years I could walk away from this relationship with a clear heart knowing I did everything I could!

Ladies, I left out A LOT of details in that story but I want you to know yes, I wasted 8 years of my life with him, but I don’t regret them necessarily. I am a different person now and I would like to think a better person now because of that storm.

Here is what I learned during that storm and every storm I have been through since.

1.     We don’t always get the answer we want from God, but He is so faithful no matter what. Now, I have the best husband ever and he is everything I have ever wanted and everything I didn’t know I wanted. J

2.     There were many times I questioned if there really was a God and why would He let this happen to me. I loved God and went to church faithfully. Ladies, bad things happen to good people but, it’s not because God is punishing them. I read my bible everyday and prayed everyday and still got the same answer. Looking back now, I realize it was because He had something better.

Daniel 3:16-18 is one of my favorite scripture passages, this is what it says:

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

So, in our terms, they were saying even if God doesn’t give us the answer we want, we will still serve Him. Honestly, Ladies that is the key to weathering any storm. God is faithful no matter what. When we are going through a storm and we can’t see what is on the other side, the answer still remains. God is faithful to get us through it! I didn’t get the answer I wanted then, but I am so thankful now that I didn’t. I didn’t get the answer I wanted with the storm of losing our son in February but God is still in control and I won’t find the answer for that one until I see Jesus face to face. Same thing with not being able to have children, I won’t understand that until I see Jesus. But, even if, I still serve Him.

If you don’t have Jesus as the captain of your ship to get you through your storm, we would love to show you to Him.