December 27, 2008

John 15:18
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

Greetings My Friend,

Well, the end of 2008 is near. For me the end of the year is a time of reflection. I think about the past year and I begin to hope for the next year. We had a Sunday School Teacher who taught us as we reflected to ask ourselves, “Is my walk closer to the Lord than it was at the start of the year.” I have taken on this reflection and have stopped trying to do New Year’s resolutions.

Prior to marrying Junior, I had never really read the Bible. I never really understood it and thought that it was way above my head. I had always believed there was a God, even that Jesus had lived. That was the extent of my faith journey. As I look back on my “old” life, I see there was extreme sadness and pain. I never could get out of the pain I felt. Counseling helped for a little while, but I never could overcome the immense pain.
Whenever I would ask Junior questions about life, about faith, he asked me, “What does the Bible say?” I got iterated and started reading the Bible. The first time I read it through, I was amazed that I could get through all the “begat’s.” I got through all the laws. Next I found that sometimes I started “hearing” God speak to me. It wasn’t in words but I knew God was talking to me. Sometimes the passage comforted me, like the 23rd Psalm. Sometimes I learned how to be a woman as in Proverbs 31 or in Titus 2.
Each year, I have found that my pain was not as intense as well. God began to teach me that He has been trying to comfort me for many years. I started to see that God’s hand had been on me many times. When my son was in high school, he was very troubled. I did not know how to reach him at times. At that point I started praying for him. I had learned a prayer, “Let go, let God.” Even though my faith was not very strong at that point, I did find God helping me cope.

In my new life, I have also found how to live in peace. On the other side of my struggles, I find joy at looking back. I am amazed that I got through it. I am grateful that God helped me and that I was able to see it through.

My prayer for the New Year is that your faith journey is with Jesus and that you grow in Him.

May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.

Love

Janet