And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
I long learned to stop questioning God about why certain things happen. But I still do from time to time, lol, because I'm stubborn at times. Case and point, last week, on Thursday, I woke up in a bad way. I did not feel good. I knew the characteristic irritation in my throat meant my sinuses had a little fun and drained...which is never good. The hot air aggravates it, and ends up with me groggy and sniffling, and sounding like Rasputia looked in the movie Norbit. I was so ticked off...because it impacted my travel plans. I was supposed to leave for Atlanta Thursday afternoon but I wasn't able to leave until the next day...why...because warning lights came on in my truck after I got the prescriptions. So an already aggravated Marquita is pissed now. I previously sat in the doctor's office for 3 hours for her to up my steroids and give me a mouthwash to numb my throat. Steroids equal weight gain and moon face, a place that I vowed to never return to.
I still contemplated leaving. I looked into rental cars and then amazingly the light went out so I abandoned that plan. I get excited and a few minutes later the light comes back on. Now I'm devastated. So I go sit in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant because I'm hungry and now mad with God for allowing this to rain on my parade. I talk to my prayer partner and she believes I should stay home. I soon realize after I pray away my frustration, that God is beckoning me in closer to Him for a very specific reason. Immediately as I turn into the neighborhood after getting my food an hour or more later, a calm comes over me. I notice the sky has gone from blue to black by the time I get seated in the house. And soon, the rains fall. I open the door to listen because I love the rhythmic sound of the rain. I remember I have some assignments for my study group to do, so I begin. Little do I know, God has plans for me and speaks to me as only a Father would, answering a prayer I began praying nearly 6 weeks prior.
After staying home, the next morning I have peace to go on my journey. The impact of the steroids will be brief since its only a 5-day increase (I do have some slight mooning of my face but fortunately I don't eat like I used to when I was in college...prednisone broke me in more ways than one back then). The light went out in my truck and my trip was uneventful. I have a blast with my best friend on her birthday. Then at about 4:30am, I am driving carefully in the rain and we are heading back since the light in my truck isn't on, but it still is in the back of my mind. We slow down on the on-ramp for I-20 to notice there is an accident immediately ahed. Driving ever more cautiously, I tap the brakes and come to a stop...only to be rear-ended on the driver's side...meaning directly behind me. I'm trembling...and I get out to assess the damages. The damage is minor and I don't feel anything at the moment. I pull the girl who hit me out of harm's way only to witness her car being crashed into minutes later. 45 minutes later, we head home and get in safe.
Later that day, as I talk to my best friend, I feel some pain but I immediately thank God because of the increased prednisone. Why? Prednisone is used for many things, to include inflammation. I also thank God for the downtime. I was able to sit and talk with my best friend and have some painful epiphanies. Now as I write this, sometimes its the seemingly coincidental situations that all fit together like puzzle pieces. He used these separate situations to show me how much I was worth to Him, how much He loved me, and how much He cared. We mattered so much to God that He allowed my car to act up and me to drive even more cautiously than normal in the rain so we do not crash into others. He allowed me to come to a complete stop so that when the young lady hit me, it isn't much damage...and it will be fixed. He allowed me to be outside of my car talking to her to pull her back from the road, and more importantly kept her from harm by talking to me and not being in her car when it was crashed into. He allowed me not to truly experience the brunt of the pains I could have felt with the increased prednisone. I went to the chiropractor yesterday and had some adjustments done. I didn't realize how much pain I was actually in until she examined me...I was able to go to work and function all day yesterday and even now.
It then hit me that God loves us so much. He makes sure we experience things exactly when we can handle it. He makes sure we can let go right when we are ready. He makes sure our hearts are ready for the molding by being gentle with us, applying exactly the right amount of pressure and heat needed to stimulate us in the right direction. Had I not spent the time alone with Him on Thursday, I would not have been sensitive to share what He pressed my heart to share Saturday morning so that I could put the pieces together. I would not have been ready to release the person He urged me to let go of, well at least to reclassify them in my life. Life is not in the least bit random.
When you get the lemons, start brainstorming about how you can get the most juice out of them for lemonade. Basically, I urge you to ask God what is the lesson to be learned. Every situation you face is an opportunity to learn something. Know that this too will work out for your good. Drink up!
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 1 Peter 1:6
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