As The Time Goes On

I love when God talks, He makes Himself very clear by providing so many people and incidents in a short period of time to reiterate what He is wanting me to know. I have experienced this the last few weeks and have related it to my own struggle/story and it has provided encouragement and hope for a brighter future.

I heard someone talk today about our lives as stories and that we need to look at life as if God is giving us a blank piece of paper and a pencil and wanting us to write His story through our own life. I started thinking about this in the context of my struggle and how this could be used to tell His story. His story is all about redemption and grace and my story is such an ugly one, so how does that work? I think it starts with honesty and surrender, from there God turns it into a masterpiece.

The thing is, this story is not an easy one and it comes with a lot of pain. This is not a story that I want to be shouting from the rooftops and it is not one that is uplifting and/or pretty. But then again, isn’t it all about redemption? God is turning something so ugly and shaming into something beautiful for His glory. The thing I have to understand though is that it is a process and I will not become whole overnight. It is so easy to want that instant healing and change but in all reality, that is not going to happen. Healing and change takes time and it is important that we don’t try to hurry along the process.  I am convinced that it is so much more about the journey than it is the destination. It is through the valleys and hardships that God truly shows up. It is through my brokenness that God and my need for Him becomes so very real. Without pain and/or conflict, there is no story.

God is showing me that no matter how painful it is or what bad mistake I make, I have a choice to make. I can make the choice to get back up and keep walking, making my story a brighter one or continuing down the wrong path and continuing to stall the redemption process. It all comes down to a choice and I would really like to stay on the right path, making my story a better one. It is so easy to get caught up in the moment of temptation and want to give in because it almost feels natural or I know that it will “help” me. As soon as I give in though, I know it is wrong and my journey slows down a bit.

God desires so much more for you and me. He does not want to see us slowing down our story. He longs for us to draw close to Him so that we can continue along the path of redemption and make our story a great one. He loves us so much and wants our hearts. Are we ready to surrender our addictions and give Him our hearts so that our stories can continue to be written?   

Adelaide Brown