Hidden for a purpose.

I hardly know where to start this posting. So many things are running through my mind that have shaped my life lately. First, you never know what a day will bring. I’m sure you have heard that before and have had it be a reality in your life.

The good things we can handle and are often welcomed, but the not-so-good things are harder. Recently, a friend reappeared in my life who was supposed to have been here for me when I moved to Florida. We spent maybe 5 times together before she dropped out of my life. It hurt. It confused me. It broke my heart to know that she could do that to me.

I went to God. I held on while the waves kept trying to pull me under. Finally, one day He lifted me into that rowboat I was so desperately in need of. It’s amazing when you get to the end of yourself and put everything in God’s hands that the light begins to come into your situation.

When I moved here, I prayed that my relationship with God would become more real and deeper than ever before. That He would become number one in my life.

Well, guess what, in order for that to happen, He had to move the number one person I was depending on OUT of my life first. To clear the way for my prayer to begin to happen, my friend had to go.

I won’t go into great detail about what was going on in her life that caused her to decide to step away from me, but hearing about all of it now with her return—it all makes sense. She was drowning in her own life. I might have thought that I was a casualty, but really I was the easiest to set aside. She knew she could walk away from at least one of the problems she was dealing with and trusted our friendship.

I sat listening to her tell me all that had transpired since she left. Believe me when I tell you it was MORE than a plate full, and it's not all over yet. Some of the major things have been resolved, but the residue still needs to be dealt with.

After our conversation that night, I heard the Lord speaking very clearly to me. “Susan, I allowed it for two reasons. You prayed for it, and I saved you from having to be in the middle of things that you couldn’t do anything about.”

What was a terrible disappointment and heartbreak, now with understanding, became a blessing. It took me about four months to come to the first realization that God had hidden me away here to become my closest friend—just like I asked. It humbles me to know how much God loves me, and with all the billions and billions of people in this world, he wants to be with me.

It's hard to understand God's presence because we can’t see Him. Everything about Christianity is based on faith. You have to believe. But the more you do believe, the more God gives you a sense of His presence in such a real way that you just know when you are hearing Him, and He has drawn you near to Himself.

Maybe you feel like you are alone or forgotten. I’ve been there too. Let me suggest that you take a deep breath and allow yourself to think that maybe it's not that you are alone, but God has hidden you so that He can become everything to you.

Yes, we need people, and God is the one who said that it was not good for man to be alone. But He wants to be FIRST in our lives. If we trust His wisdom and love, we’ll find that being hidden away has a purpose. And when you least expect it, that day will come, and you’ll see the full picture.

As always, I bless you.

 

 

Here today and gone tomorrow…

I’m sure you have heard this phrase at some time in your life. We apply it to all sorts of things: seasons, gardens, jobs, and various other things.

But the greatest one that we all will have participation in is—death. I went to the memorial service of the father of a friend of mine the other day. I went to show respect and love. I hadn’t met her father, but I was soon to get a vivid picture of who the man was.

She was given the joy of sharing memories about her father; I listened intently as she began to paint a picture of a man who was a father in every aspect of the title. My mind was listening, but my heart was trying to avoid the stirring feelings as I heard her words.

Her father was an incredible person. She started with his early childhood, talking about stories he shared with her and her siblings. Some were humorous, and somehow he wondered how he made it through those years. He suffered more than his share of childhood dings and dents. His lust for life put him in precarious situations that perhaps most boys his age would have avoided. But he made it through and became a young man with new desires and dreams.

One of which was to join the military. It’s one of the often-told stories of being underage and having to have a parent sign for them—which his mother did. His father, as it turned out, wasn’t too happy about the decision.

But the military helped him grow up, and he shuffled through a mixture of jobs. Settling on driving supplies to the soldiers. It was very evident as my friend shared these stories that her father was a dedicated giver.

He found the Lord in mid-life and felt the need to serve even more. It became his lifelong pursuit. What stuck in my mind was how he treated his children. Here was a father who actually loved his children, played with them, laughed with them, and gave of himself to them.

I didn’t have such a father. To this day, whenever I see a man loving his little girl, it amazes me. Yes, most men want a son, but there is something in the eyes of a man who looks at his little girl as a prize he won in life! My friend’s father was such a man.

I came home and was surprised by the lingering feelings that followed me even into my sleep. I kept thinking—this man is gone. Not to sound morose, but he was cremated. So, I guess you could say that he isn’t completely physically gone. That’s not making light of the fact that he will never be gone because of the legacy of his life he left behind in memories with those who loved and knew him.

But what bothered me throughout the night was the fact that one day we are here and the next we are gone physically. I thought about the millions of people that I have no idea even existed.  Of course, some famous individuals did something significant enough in this world that they are still being remembered to this day. We who interacted with those who have passed away are the only ones who remember that that person existed.

Going to a funeral makes you think about who will remember you when it’s your time to leave this world. I wondered how many people lived such a solitary life that there was not a soul who remembered that they even existed. I’m sure there are cases where this happened. They were here today and gone tomorrow without a single person remembering that they too once were a living, breathing human being. I thought that no matter what the lifestyle, whether a loved friend or a lifelong hidden-from-the-world person, there is a void. But voids never last. Something always fills a void-life goes on.

Leaving this world will be the same for all of us. It will be like a door opening; we walk through it, and it closes, and we never come back. It’s the memories we make by interacting with others that, even in the smallest circle, we say we were here.

As a Christian, I know that this life is only a brief one. Whether I’m remembered by even a few, that’s not the end of me. My friend’s father laid aside his earthly housing, walked through that door, and is physically gone.

You and I will do that very same thing one day. If you don’t know the Lord, then there is a big difference between us. I have someone waiting on me to walk through the other side of that door who will welcome me home. It’s where I started, and it’s where I will eventually go back to. The Word says that we were all with Him before the foundation of the world.

You might not believe that you existed with God before you existed here. One way or the other, you will end up standing back before God.

It’s always my prayer that someone who stumbles upon my blog will be convicted of their need for salvation. Maybe today it will be you.

I bless you.