Trading Places
When things get hard it’s much easier to run than participate in your own reality. Does the gravity of your family situation have you dreaming about some sort of escape? Maybe one of your friends has a story book family and you’d like to switch places with her. You’re not the only person who’s had these thoughts.
I can’t speak for Job but I would love to ask him why he didn’t blame God for losing everything. Job loved and obeyed God and he was one of the wealthiest men in the Bible but within one day he lost his ten children and all his wealth. Then his body was attacked by a disease which covered him in boils from head to toe. The propensity was there for Job to be angry with God, but Job didn’t run and He didn’t blame God. He rebuilt his life right where he was. An even better life than before. God gave him ten more children. Children who loved the Lord this time.
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10
Encouragement:
I’m sure you’ve all heard the expression ‘The Patience of Job.’ Test after test Job proved faithful to God. If you’re not feeling very hopeful about your situation please read the book of Job to better understand what this man endured. Ask God to make you more like Job.
Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me and caring about me. I’m scared because I don’t know what’s going to happen in my family. (Name your concern.) But You do know, Father, and I know you’re working on my behalf. Please take away my anxiousness and give me the patience to endure whatever comes my way just like Job. Go before me everywhere I go today and protect me from evil and evil thoughts. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
May you see God everywhere you go today,
Sherry
Music for your PlayList: I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp
Where are you, Jesus?
Life events can easily go from bad to worse. Hopelessness can settle in. You may just be learning how to manage a different family life when another setback occurs. Your resources are somewhat limited to change things because you’re still under your parents’ authority, so you’ve prayed for God’s help but nothing seems to be changing.
Mary and Martha felt the same way. Jesus was their close friend. Their brother Lazarus was sick and near death. Jesus sat in their home frequently and ate with them, laughed with them, and shared stories with them. Mary even rubbed very expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. There was no doubt in their mind Jesus would come and heal Lazarus.
But Jesus didn’t come and Lazarus died. Mary’s reaction to Jesus after her brother’s death is relative for all of us. She tearfully asked Jesus in John 11:32 “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She was broken by her brother’s death but also the one hope for her brother’s recovery never showed up.
Mary didn’t know what Jesus knew. Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He wept because of the pain Mary and Martha were going through, but Jesus knew through this miracle many would believe in Him. If Jesus had healed Lazarus naysayers could claim Lazarus would’ve gotten better even without Jesus, but by raising Lazarus from the dead there is absolutely no other explanation than God.
Whatever your turmoil today, Jesus hears you and He’s working on your behalf. Keep believing and keep praying. His timing is not our timing. His timing is perfect.
Encouragement:
Jesus never said there would be no pain in our lives, but He did promise to go through it with us. Even when it feels like He’s not doing anything, He is. He may answer in a way you could never have imagined but it will be for the best possible outcome for you.
You are His priority. Let this consume you because there’s no better feeling in the world.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry
Music for your Playlist: Held by Natalie Grant
Self-Injury
“You have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help.” Princess Diana admitted to cutting her legs in a BBC interview.
“I put out cigarettes on my arms. It didn’t hurt. You get this adrenaline rush and could actually faint from the pain, then a little sting then you actually don’t feel anything. It’s calming actually.”Christina Ricci quoted during an interview with Spin Magazine.
Demi Lovato dropped out of a concert tour with the Jonas Brothers last year to seek help with eating disorders and cutting. Angelina Jolie has admitted to cutting during a rough patch in her teens and early twenties.
Young women resort to self-injury because they are experiencing overwhelming feelings, like extreme anxiety or tension, and in the moment self-injury may seem to provide a feeling of escape or relief. Forms of self-injury can vary. Cutting is the most prevalent but picking, scratching, and burning yourself are also forms of self-injury. (Center for Young Women’s Health-Children’s Hospital of Boston)
This type of addiction is not usually conquered alone. It’s important to pin-point the reason you harm yourself. If your darkness stems from your parents’ divorce and you don’t feel comfortable talking to your parents, please find another adult you trust. Don’t be ashamed. Your Heavenly Father loves you no matter what and He has a message for you in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you are bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Encouragement:
Teenage years are tough and your parents’ divorce has created a double whammy for you. No wonder you’re experiencing overwhelming feelings. Please know you’re not alone. You can feel alone in a house full of people. I get that. If any of these scenarios represent you, please know God is looking at you right now waiting for you to reach out to Him.
You’re so important to Him and He will give you the strength to tell someone and get the help you need. Don’t think you can stop this alone. I’m passionate about this so if you need to reach out to me. Please do. Seriously.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry
Amazing Grace
As a child of divorce you’ve already learned there are consequences for mistakes your parents made. You may feel like you’re being punished for something you didn’t cause or create. You probably have every right to be angry with one or both of your parents. How are you dealing with these feelings? Let me persuade you not to go this alone. Please ask God for sustaining grace.
Grace is such a buzz word in our culture till I’m not sure we embrace what an incredible gift it is. We don’t enter the world equipped to handle setbacks. This process must be learned and without the love and support of your Heavenly Father during this tough time, you may resort to other alternatives. God wants to be your go-to source when the foundation of your home begins to crumble.
“But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Apostle Paul had what he called a thorn in his flesh. There’s much speculation as to what the thorn was. Many Bible scholars think it was a physical affliction. Whatever it was, Paul petitioned God three times to take it away. God didn’t take it away but He did give Paul grace to live with his handicap and Paul became one of the most powerful writers in the New Testament.
Encouragement:
God’s heartbeat is fierce protection for his children. When you’re weak God has the opportunity to restore you in such a way there will be no explanation you can give except to say. “It was God.”
God’s grace is available and waiting for you. Give Him your anger, your fear, your confusion, and your hopelessness. Watch how He heals you and gives you strength you never knew you had. I would love to hear your story.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry
For your Playlist: Your Grace is Enough by Chris Tomlin
You’re Still You
Christopher Reeve was one of Hollywood’s finest leading men. Best known for his role as Superman, the 6’4” handsome actor was accidentally flipped by his horse and paralyzed from the neck down in 1995. A couple of days following the accident he lay in his hospital bed unable to breathe without a machine pumping his lungs. He turned to his faithful wife, Dana, and mouthed, “Maybe we should let me go.” Dana never skipped a beat. “You’re still you and I love you.”
A few years later, Christopher shared publically that these words literally saved his life and later compelled him to dictate his biography, “Still Me.”
God doesn’t judge you by your outward appearance or limited abilities. He’s not looking at the facade you’re wearing to get through your parents’ divorce. He sees right to your heart. If it’s broken He knows. He will not turn his back on you because your parents have changed the course of your life. Never. He still has a purpose for your life.
Press on in the direction God has laid out for you. Your parents’ divorce doesn’t define you. You’re still you.
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3: 13-14
Encouragement:
We can easily lose our way when tragedy happens in our lives. You may feel different and all your surroundings may be different but our Heavenly Father sees you the same as He always has.
His plans for your life are still the same. Focus on Him not on the chaos swirling around you. Let Him be your constant. He’ll give you supernatural strength to get through this time.
Know I’m Praying for You,
Sherry