Weakness...Strength

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
~2 Corinthians 12:9

All I can say is thanks to God! Daily, I find myself so aware of my weaknesses and imperfections. As soon as I do better in one area of my life, something else slides. Can you relate?

It is good for me to remember that all my life I will be weak in one area or another; but, God's strength is available to me. All I have to do is ask Him and believe that He will give it to me.

Over the last couple of years, many are going through difficult times financially and emotionally. The government may call it a recession; but, for many it is truly a depression. My husband lost his good paying job seven years ago. The company decided, after ten years of service, to give Lowell's job to a young person who would work for half the pay. Ouch, ow, yeowww!

God was strong when I was weak. I was so hurt, so angry, so lost. We didn't know what to do. We sought counsel from Christians and our pastor. Unfortunately, no one was really getting a word from God. We made some bad decisions. We weren't hearing from God. We didn't hear; because, we didn't let God through our pain and fear and discouragement. He didn't give up on us though. He loved us through one bad decision after another. We were crying out to him in desperation; but, we just didn't have ears to hear an answer.

It's been seven years now. We never declared bankruptcy though we were beyond bankrupt. The bank whom we'd financed our business, our home, and our vehicles, reposessed it all. We were left with only our furniture and our personal items. It was the middle of December. We had until the 31st to give up our last car and our home to the bank. We also had four children. Merry Christmas. We were weak. Oh my, we were weak.

But HE was strong. He showed himself strong to us. An old friend showed up at the door one afternoon. One of the kids answered the door. Our friend dropped off a Christmas card, said he had to go, and practically fled. Weird. I hadn't even gotten to the door yet. When I opened the card, I knew why. Inside was a check for a thousand dollars! It was from a group of friends that we'd done Bible study with years before in another town. Imagine the shock! I was almost afraid to hold it. I knew it was directly from God.

So, I showed it to my husband. We decided to set it aside and wait for clear direction from the Lord. It came two days later. Another friend shared our situation with her Bible study group and asked for prayer for us. Afterwards, a lady said she had a van for sale for $1000! The next day we had a van! It ran just fine even if it did have a bit of hay and straw in it. ~grin~

Since the business was gone and the house was gone, we wanted to move back to our hometown. God caused a man who was selling his house to decide to rent to us instead. That was a big deal because he'd just remodeled it with a finished basement. That made a two bedroom house big enough for the six of us. He didn't even bat an eye at our bad credit or our little dog. We laughed later and said that God let us keep our dog and our four kids!

We've had continued struggle since then. It will be seven years in June since Lowell lost his position. We've been learning to depend entirely on God all this time. Lowell hasn't had a position that allowed us to take care of all our needs during this time. Somehow, God has still provided one way or another. We've learned to be creative; and, we are definitely a lot more graceful to others who are on the down side of life.

Lowell has a position now in Kansas City with a yellow page company. Someday, in God's timing, we'll join him there. Once again, we are weak because of the separation; but, God's grace is sufficient for us. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. We can do this in His strength. Even so, I pray that God will reunite us soon.

Just as Beth Moore says:

God is who he says he is.
God can do what he says he can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I'm believing God.!

Have a terrific God believing week!

Laura

May I suggest?

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Friday Night Date Night
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