Due to God's benevolence, the words of the title of this post have seen me through many trials in my life. It started when I accepted the fact that God loved us enough to take on human flesh and to pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:14).
I learned to
stop resisting the trials, which are inherent to life on this sin-filled
planet. I started to rejoice in them instead, because I know that God will work
them all out for my good (Romans 5:3, 8:28).
I want to
document some of the seeds for miracles in my various trials in order to
encourage you, my reader, and to give glory to our Father, who loves us beyond
words.
*In 1971, I
married the love of my life. Over the 22 years of our marriage, we learned that
we were never really compatible. We saw life through two very divergent
viewpoints. For instance, I needed to work with my husband, while he preferred
to be alone unless he wanted companionship.
I am very
emotional, and he is rather stoic. My prophetic nature often wounded his
sensitive soul; yet, he never divulged this information to me until after he
decided that there was no option for us but divorce.
Bewildered
by this unexpected trial, I moved back to my childhood home with my extended
family, and I waited on God to show me His future plans for my life.
Eighteen
months later, God produced miraculous fruit from the seed, which He planted in
this trial. My Heavenly Daddy gave me a mate more suited to my personality.
For 22 years
now, we work together continually in the ministries, which God gives to us. My
dear husband cherishes me, loves me unconditionally, and appreciates me continually.
*At one
point during our 19 years of ministry to New Life Church in Florida, I had a
trial for five weeks which had me homebound. I caught a cold virus that
developed into bronchitis, pneumonia and back to bronchitis.
During this
time, my cat of 14 years sat on the arm of my recliner and kept me company for
the duration of my illness. We bonded during that time, and she gave me
continual cat hugs and kisses to comfort me.
Even though
my constant coughing startled her at times, she never left my side. God planted
her in my life as my miracle seed. She is my constant source of joy, even after
God healed me from that illness.
*Another
trial occurred when we purchased a small, "starter" home in Florida
that needed quite a bit of remodeling. The seed for the miracle manifested as
God freely provided the materials and much of the labor to make this home
pretty and comfortable for me.
*Living in
such a small space, however, became a trial to my husband. After five years, God's
seed came in the form of our neighbor who asked to buy it; he wanted to remodel
it even more and to move his family into it.
*We then moved
to a three bedroom, two bath manufactured home in a senior community, which had
a termite and roof inspection before we moved into it. A few weeks later, the
trial came when we discovered termites and a leaky roof.
The miracle
occurred when those that did the inspections repaired these issues with no cost
and no fuss or issues for us. My husband really, really loved the additional,
square feet of extra living space.
*During the first
half of our years together, I saw more of my husband's children than my own.
They were young children when we married, and we got them for several weeks out
of the year.
Then, as
adults, they lived closer to us, while my children lived many states away from
us. We saw my husband's grandchildren more often than I was able to see my own.
The seed for
my miracle in this trial was that, twenty years later, my husband took the
pastorate of a church only three hours from my younger son and my
grandchildren. Now, I am able to see them more often.
*Another
trial occurred when I found out that I had Autoimmune Disorder issues for most
of my life. Up until then, my doctors treated all of the symptoms of this illness;
but never gave me any help to combat and stop the root source of it.
God gave me
the seed for my miracle when a mentor shared his experience with me. After
suffering for 15 years with fibromyalgia and arthritis, within two weeks of me
starting the detox diet he recommended, I was pain free.
As I read
the book my mentor gave me, I learned what it takes to heal this malady caused
by a leaky gut and inflammation. When I strictly adhered to the advice in the
book, The AutoImmune Solution by Amy Myers MD, many of the symptoms of Autoimmune
Disorder started healing.
*For
instance, my eyes developed Narrowing Glaucoma over the years of Autoimmune
destruction of my bodily organs. After prayer from my church family, and my new
lifestyle diet, my eyes started to heal until the Glaucoma was totally gone.
*Another trial
and seed came from Hurricane Irma of 2017. It damaged much of our manufactured
home in southwest Florida. We had planned to use the money from the sale of
this home to purchase land and a small café to use for community outreach in
connection with our pastoral ministry in Illinois.
This vision
died with Irma, until God lead a Christian couple to give us the money needed
to purchase this property, along with a loan to buy needed equipment to open
the cafe.
We were also
able to cash in our retirement CDs with a minimal penalty to make the needed
repairs on our Florida home. We look forward to the future sale of this mobile
home in order to pay back the loan for the café and to restore our retirement
savings.
*As we
outfitted the café and bought the necessary equipment to open the restaurant,
we found many items on sale. Some of the appliances, booths and chairs were
slightly used, but still in good shape.
We ran into
the biggest trial when the exhaust hood, which we already purchased, cost more
to install than the property and the building did. This put a halt to all of
the projects needed to open the café.
It looked
like this unexpected development might not only delay the Grand Opening, but
might even kill our dream of using the café to provide our community with a
loving place to fellowship and meet new friends.
The word of
our predicament slowly got out into the community, and the miracle produced by
the seed, which God planted in this death and rebirth of a vision, provided us
with help from unexpected places to be ready for our Grand Opening.
Prayer:
Father God,
You have given us so many wondrous benefits as Your children, starting with our
eternal salvation and continuing through every trial which life throws at us
through the years. We highly prize our intimate union with You along with the
continual guidance of Your Holy Spirit. I shudder to think of a life without
Your presence and direction.
Keep us ever
mindful of the seeds for a miracle, which You plant in every trial. This will
help us to count them as joyful occurrences, rather than dreading the future
trauma that they usually bring. We trust You as our Heavenly Daddy, and we know
without a doubt that You always have our best interest in mind.
Thought for
the Day:
Trusting in
God's benevolence and mercy, we can abide in a fulfilled Christian life now and
for eternity; living as an example of God's Agape love will allow us to serve
as a beacon of light set on a hill to draw others to His saving grace.
- Matthew 5:14; John 12:32
- Matthew 5:14; John 12:32
