Almost 25 years ago, I was someone who left the Northeast, where I had been since birth, and moved to a small-ish Southern military town. Almost 5 years after that, my life began to be transformed through 12-Step recovery as well as the awakening to what it really means to recognize a power higher than me: God. I believe I heard from God within my soul that I would eventually be a people-helper for Christians. This was a surprising dream as I was, until then, a dedicated atheist!
Why here, and why now? What did it all mean?
It meant that I spent almost 20 years getting the perspective and healing necessary for me to be the best me possible - and the best wife, mother, friend, and family member. It meant that I paced myself while I ran my household, raised my children, and grew in my faith, all the while pursuing the study of God's Word and a pastoral counseling degree. It meant that I was able to develop the coping skills and positivity to make it through very deep and heavy trials and tragedies with my heart and marriage in check. And every time I remembered that downloaded message to one day help others, it helped me persevere.
My message to others:
Sometimes it takes a while, perhaps even 20 years, for it all to come together. Our purpose and dreams may be on our hearts, but we will still have to learn how be patient while doing the work to make it all happen. As I've heard from a leader in my life, "God can move the mountain, but He might just give you a shovel, too."
Sometimes (often) we will suffer along the way. If you are in Christ just as He is in you (Galatians 2:20) then we honor Him as our model. He suffered, and did it for our sake. He was our suffering servant, and we should not expect our walk in the world to be exempt. But I can attest that, with a commitment to improving self, relationships, and faith, I was able to make it through. So can you.
Always, we are the navigators of where we want our lives to go. There are burdens that make it hard to achieve successes that others appear to have, but I know indisputably, that God loves us, He never leaves us, and He will put resources in our path to move us forward and move us toward Him. Jesus may take the wheel, but we still have a choice to make daily. Love or hate; life or death; peace or power-struggle. Choose life!
Love, Theresa
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