The year 2019 held several unexpected setbacks and challenges for me. I had several days where I said, “If I hear one more piece of bad news…” only to receive MORE bad news. I’ve seen the Midnight hour come and go and the situation STILL not be worked out. In fact, things got worse. I laid down praying for sleep that didn’t come and I woke up too soon dragging myself out of bed to face a morning I wish hadn’t come yet. As if that’s not bad enough, my spiritual mind warred with my natural mind and took a few blows…leaving me feeling as though I was in the “fight of my life” (thanks Kirk).
To put things in perspective for you…I’m a fairly positive and optimistic person 95% percent of the time (keeping it real because I’m NOT perfect…LOL). I may have a tough day or down moment but I tend to bounce back quickly or within a reasonable amount of time because I automatically try to focus on what I can walk away from the situation with that is positive. There’s only been one major time I have felt as severely challenged as I felt last year and that was during my walk through a difficult marriage and divorce many years ago. Let me assure some of you; now being older and more mature in my walk on this Christian journey, I do realize that I came out better, wiser and stronger J. I haven’t abandoned the faith or doubted that in the end ALL things are working together for my good because I love God and am called according to His purpose. However, I did ask God what in the world He was up to and told Him that I thought we had a disconnect on the “He knows just how much we can bear” thing…LOL.
Now here we are in the year 2020 and all of this has made me reflect on living life as a Christian during some extremely challenging times and situations seeing how we are surrounded by a pandemic (Covid 19) and gun violence in my city is off the chain. I’ve found myself asking the questions: “What can you say to someone when things AREN’T getting better but are WORSE and you’ve already told them to hang in there and to be encouraged? How do you deal with going through a tough situation for a LOOOOOONNNNGGG period of time (Will the Corona virus ever end?) and it seems like no end is in sight? How do you stay sane when you are pressed on every hand day after day after day? What hope is there to give when someone feels like all hope is completely lost? As I stare out the window at the boats on Lake Michigan I don’t profess to have all the answers to those questions but as I’m walking through this season I am convinced of the following:
1) No matter how bad things are or how much worse they may get I still wouldn’t want to be going through it without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life. There is something that just cannot be explained about the peace and serenity that you eventually find after taking the risk of casting all your cares on HIM.
2) The battle for your mind is REAL and it’s CRUCIAL to find scriptures in the Word of God to hold on to with a death grip and to meditate on DAILY to keep your sanity. Some of my favorites are: Isa. 26:3, Prov. 3:5-6, Jer. 29:11, Rom. 8:28, Ps. 51, Is. 50:7 and 2 Sam. 22:33. I also keep my iPod (Yes I STILL have an iPod…LOL) loaded with Christian music and will play it day and night when necessary to plant seeds of faith, hope and encouragement in my conscious and subconscious.
3) In the end I always find myself coming back to the thought that “I may not be able to choose all the situations I face in this life but I CAN choose how I go through them.” Joyce Meyer made a statement years ago that comes back to me from time to time as well. She said, “I’d rather believe God for a whole lot and get half of it than to believe Him for nothing and get all of it.” I’ve chosen to make the thought “No Regrets” my motivational mantra in this time that I have left. Everyday I wake up now I’m reminding myself that I want to live the rest of my days with No Regrets. I don’t want the regret of not believing that God has a plan and purpose for my life and that He really does know what He’s doing. I don’t want the regret of not trusting God to bring me through this season of uncertainty just as He has the previous ones. And I don’t want the regret of wasting precious opportunities to be found faithful and finishing well during a season of trials when God wants to use it to bring Himself glory and draw others to Christ. SELAH.
As I close, here are some lyrics to one of my favorite songs that was in heavy rotation on my iPod that blessed me greatly. It’s a single that was released in 2010 by San Franklin entitled “Arise”:
“Today is the day of a new horizon
There’s new life in you
Remove all the guilt and shame
The past no longer has you
Arise now, seize the moment
The glory of the Lord shall appear
God is in you preparing your victory
Rise up now and say
I’m the head and not the tail
Above and not beneath
Full of prosperity
The favor of the Lord surrounds me.
Arise! Arise! Arise! This is the hour
Arise! Arise! Arise! This is a new day
Arise! Arise! Arise! This is the moment
So now that I’ve shared some of “Trinitia’s Life” with you….share your thoughts with me .
“NO REGRETS”
