Good will come. We only have one day at a time. God gives us our “daily bread,” and promises to provide for us daily. Our job is to trust that He is working things out. Our job is to look into our past prayers and see how far we’ve come since then. And our job is to see how God has redeemed our past situations and challenges in order to help us trust that in this season God will work things out for our good yet again. Romans 8:28 tells us that “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This doesn’t promise us that our life will be only flowers and sunshine. This promises that through all our struggles and hurts, God is with us and in HIS time, which is always the best timing, He will turn crummy into good. Look back girlfriends. I bet you can go back a few years or months, and remember your cries to the Lord for help from a situation, for good things to come from the bad.
This picture is from 9 years ago, when I was still married to my first husband, and lived 950 miles from family. Paige had just turned 2, and this is Sam’s first day of 3rd grade. My credit cards were maxed, and I had borrowed money from a friend to buy school supplies. My smile is more than fake, and you can fill in the rest of the challenging blanks……and yet; I love this picture. I love this picture not just because I adore the babies in it, but because 9 years later I have the privilege of recognizing ALL that God has worked out for good in my life since then. Were the past 9 years easy? No! But with completely giving up on myself and putting my life’s plan into God’s hands, He has brought me to a place of healing and redemption. This healing and redemption is for everyone. My second husband of 5 years and my partner in this ministry wrote beautiful words to a friend going through a challenging time that I thought were too good not to share with you:
“It gets better, less sad. Keep that in the back of your mind to revisit when you’re ready. I try to live in the present as best I can as often as I can, I count my current blessings, and I look forward to the blessings I know I will get if I continue to work on the present, if I continue to work on me, and if I continue to work on the things that make me happy. Your situation happened when it did for reasons you may not have a clue to the why yet. But you will see the why. Trust the process. It’s work every day. But it gets easier everyday to live in the present, and just trust, have faith, that all of this, including the bad parts, were meant to be for an uncountable amount of reason that you’ll begin to discover. Keep moving forward.”
The bottom line is that God will get you through whether you see it or understand how in this moment. Breathe. Cry out to Jesus. And trust Him. He loves you. God told the people of Israel in the book of Jeremiah that, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again.” Yes!!!!! This is just as relevant to you in whatever situation you’re in right now as it was thousands of years ago when God spoke to the people of Israel! God is speaking these words to you. Expect His never ending love and adoration and believe that He is “working things out for good.”
I believe so much that hearing each other’s stories of how God has helped us, healed us, and redeemed us can be so encouraging to our sisterhood. I’d love to post your story if you’d like to share. Your story is your ministry, and your story can help others! Send me a private message on Facebook or an email (mandy@mandymccleary.com), and share your story! I cannot wait to read it!
