The Struggle

Once upon a time...okay have I gotten your attention?  

Once upon a time there was a young girl, and as she grew up she faced various struggles as we all do.  Well this girl grew to be a young women.  And she was not happy living where she was living, she thought, the grass is greener over there.

So she packed up her belongings and moved.  Now this young women was always curious about things.  And I am sure that you know it is not always a good thing to be curious...but, Thank God, God was with her.  She didn't know it, but God was always there.  She thought she was living her life, but she wasn't really, it was more like she was just floating thru and life was just happening.

Does this sound like anyone you may know?   Well let's continue.....

Finally as the days, weeks, months, and years, yes years, had passed her by...she started to realize that life was just happening and she wasn't having any real hand in it.  She was just letting time go by with no purpose!  Yes she was rearing a child, yes she was married, yes she was working, yes she was going to the grocery store, yes she was going to soccer practice, yes she was going to church, yes she was spending time with friends, yes she was drinking alcohol, NO she wasn't happy!  (And no she wasn't an alcoholic, she just drank on occasion).

Well more time went by, and more time went by, was she happy?  No

Well the young women decided that it was time to make some changes to her life, so she left her husband and took her child and continued to do the things she had been doing....hmmm....life didn't improve.  She thought, "what have I done, I left my husband, I am now a single parent, I work, I rent an apartment, I have no happiness." (She didn't know it, but what she was missing was JOY!)

More time went by...and life just continued.  Do you ever feel like life is just happening to you and that you have no hand in your own destiny...I think this is what is meant by, "Life has past me by."  Don't let it!

Back to our story.  Well now as all of this was happening to this young women, there was something else happening in the life of a young man...he was attending church regularly, a nice size church, not to huge, but not really tiny.  And this church was about to have an, "old tyme revival meeting!". And the young man had been praying, "Lord direct me to the one or ones that you want me to bring to these meetings!" And he prayed this over and over again.  And as he was walking home from work, he stopped into his car insurance company's office to pay his bill.  He was talking to the receptionist and she got his agent for him and they were talking about his policy....well they talked a bit more and he asked her if she would like to go to the meetings at his church.  Well the women didn't feel comfortable going (she was married and her husband was out of town, and she wasn't comfortable going without her husband) but she said to the young man, wait just a minute,  and she came back into the room with the receptionist, the agent said to the young man, I can't go but Susan said that she would go with you.  Well the young man thought, that will work.
So Susan and the young man went back out to the entry area to establish were and when.  Yup you guessed it, our young women is Susan.

So the young women made arrangements for a babysitter for her child, and she went to the first meeting.   Hmm she thought, I have known this information for many years.  But I never knew that you had to invite Jesus into your life....well the young women enjoyed the first service and decided that she would go the next night.  She thanked the young man and said that she would see him again the next evening.  She went to work the next day and her boss asked her how she enjoyed the service, she told her that she really enjoyed it and that she was going again tonight. Oh good thought her boss.

The young women was getting ready to go to church, she was actually getting a bath, and I don't know about you, but the bathtub or shower is were I actually do some of my best thinking, so Susan thought to herself, I really don't know why I haven't done this before? Well actually I do, I wasn't sure I wanted to give up all the borderline bad stuff that I do and  I never realized that having a relationship with Christ was as easy as just asking Him to take up residence in my heart!
So right there and then, Susan prayed a simple prayer, Jesus, I have done things that I should not have done and I am so sorry for the bad things I have done, Jesus please forgive me?  And please Jesus, come into my heart, and help me to be a baby Christian who wants to grow up in You....Amen...well for some reason the young women was moved to tears...not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.  She was feeling a happiness that she had never felt before. (A joy that can only come from Jesus).  She felt like the struggle was over...

We will have more of this story soon, but for right now, go and find someone to bless...I need to put some wood on the wood stove and go and get baptized again as I take my shower this morning.  God's blessings on you all!

And don't forget: John 3: 16...For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that who ever believes in Him shall have life without end.