BLESSINGS OF BURDEN

Find the Blessing in the Midst of Burden

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.  
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God is with us. 

God promises us that He will go before us. He will never abandon us or forsake us.

When we are struggling or feel alone, how easily we forget that he is with us.  How often do we forget to seek God’s will rather than our own solutions. For our problems may not actually be problems.

When we hit a bump in the road, let us not forget to remain thankful.  Sometimes God uses us to do His will in the most uncomfortable, most stressful, most painful situations. We are blessed when we are His vessel for reaching those who don’t know Him, have forgotten Him or just need to be reminded that they are loved by Him.  We’re blessed when we see the opportunity in the moment. We can’t find that blessing unless we are strong enough in faith to reach beyond our own desire or distress and see that there is much more to our story than what can be seen from our own eyes.  Looking at things with the perspective of “what can I do with this,” rather than “what is this doing to me,” can open up a whole new world of possibilities. 

Getting out of the comfort zone.

I have stretched far beyond who I thought I was supposed to be simply by letting God show me how He can use me. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be using scripture to support my friends and co-workers. But at some point in the last few years my vision of who I want to be has shifted. And here I am.    

I don’t believe that God gave me a brain tumor to change my life. I think because of God my eyes were opened in that moment.  It was a gift that I found God’s amazing grace in the midst of fear, worry, sadness and anger.  He opened my eyes to a life I never knew I was meant to live. 

Now, when I can pull the right bible verse and send it in a text, an email or on special occasions when I’m able to deliver it in person, I feel I have purpose. I can’t describe how I feel when God gives me the exact words someone else needs to hear and allows me to be His delivery system. 

Sometime I feel like God makes me travel outside of my delivery area.  That’s when I feel like I’m not capable of doing the work God is calling me to do.  It’s uncomfortable. But in the end it always makes me glad I’m working for God and able to deliver His love to others. 

My Mamaw. My blessing not my burden. 

Me, Bethany and Mamaw at Mother's Day Brunch 2017.

My Mamaw was recently in the hospital and I thought this was a great opportunity for me to do God’s work and help her and my mom through it. I wanted to be able to be there for her so that my mom wouldn’t need to travel back and forth to see Mamaw. I wanted to be there for mom as a way to lighten my her load. After a few days I was getting frustrated. I was feeling like it was becoming a chore. This was my grandmother who I love dearly. Why would the extra effort that it took me to make myself available to be there when the doctor stopped by and the time that it was taking me to spend a few hours a day with her make me so exhausted? I was angry with myself for feeling this way. I know people go months and years taking care of loved ones that are sick. I just wasn’t ready for that to be me. I felt guilty for the thoughts even entering my mind.
One afternoon I was sitting at my desk and I knew I needed to go see her. I didn't know what else to do except pray. I asked God to help me enjoy the time with my Mamaw. Somewhere between my desk and her hospital room, God gave me the ability to have a different perspective. I AM really blessed that I could be there for Mamaw. How great was it that I work in the hospital and it was a short walk up to her room! How fantastic that I could be there in a moment’s notice to hear what the doctor had to say about her condition. I kept telling myself it’s a blessing not a burden. 

That afternoon she and I had a talk about my grandpa. We spoke about how wonderful my PaPaw had been to me and my sister and we shared some fun memories. She told me about my great grandma and her brothers and sisters. She shared some regrets. She shared some frustrations. She shared some things with me that had obviously been weighing heavy on her mind.   

After that talk I no longer felt burdened. Mamaw is doing well and has moved to rehab to get stronger. I love that she gets excited when I come see her.  I feel like changing my perspective from how difficult things were for me to how grateful I was for the ability to serve her made a difference in both of us.

I'm not saying it's always going to be easy to be there for her, but I know now that it's not a burden. God's grace is enough to get me through it. When I am at my weakest, He will make me strong. 

God allowed me the opportunity to be there for her and all I had to do was open my eyes to it being an opportunity God placed before me instead of a burden He placed on me. 

When your heart is heavy and you feel burdened. Turn your eyes to Jesus and remember….
 

Deuteronomy 31:8   It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Embrace each opportunity to turn burden into blessing.  God's grace is enough.