Hope Awaits...A Story Yet To Be Unfold

I've been in a bit of a writer's funk, but I am determined to climb out of it today and join the blog world. Despite the fact that it is…

One of those days…

You know the kind.  Winter grey and dreary…cold winds blowing. Partial blankets of thin white snow cover the ground here and there in the effort to herald in the winter months.  I'm sitting in my comfy home office chair with my lap quilt pulled up as far as it will go, while still allowing my arms and hands the freedom to type out these words.  A hot cup of tea sitting by my side, begging to be sipped as the warmth escapes through the thin steam evaporating into the air.

But as I write I realize the gift that God has given me today. The gift of reflection…let me show you what I mean…

What is it waits,
beneath the snow?
A story, yet to be unfold.
~Gay Idle

A story. Each one of us has a story to tell. Yes, even you! The longer I live the more this truth becomes ever more clear. The story is unique to each one of us. Different…yet the same.  How can that be?

The stories are the same in that we each have been, or will be, wounded in some way in our lives.

The wounds come in all shapes and forms…

rejection... lost love... the death of a loved one... physical abuse...sexual abuse...abandonment…miscarriage...verbal abuse...physical disability...financial loss...poor choices...emotional pain...

and on and on….

It all boils down to the fact that we live in a fallen world. In this world where sin seems to reign, we all feel its effects…sometimes because of our own ability to fall to the temptation of the sin before us and sometimes because of the fallen state of others. Either way, we are left with wounds from the fallout as we walk this journey called life.  So while I may not be able to fully empathize with you in your wounded-ness, I can surely sympathize knowing what it is to walk with the scars left from my own wounds acquired in this life.  

This brings me back to this cold and dreary day. A picture to me of this life…and yet…what lies beneath the blanket of snow?  Not death…life!  Life awaiting for the cold to thaw.

Sometimes our story needs to endure the winter…to lie dormant before it is ready to burst forth as the buds in spring. (tweet this)

Sometimes there is purpose in the pain. Sometimes the pain is, pure and simple…the enemies attempt to bring us down.  Either way…every time, if we allow it, God works through the pain, the wounds, and brings healing, forgiveness, and restoration. Leaving only scars as the evidence of a life healed, redeemed, and ready to bring hope to others because of hope that is within us. 

Not a wishful thinking kind of hope. Rather the hope that is the assurance of a life that 'knows that it knows', because it has endured, even triumphed over the past, over the harsh realities of this journey. What joy and peace that comes to us through the enduring. 

We have a choice to make. Through the hard parts of our journey, will we quit, stall out, refuse to allow God to revive us from this 'winter of our discontent'?  Will we choose to remain in the pit of our pain and wallow in the depths of self-pity? Will we allow it to deplete our feelings of worth, and our self-care and love to deteriorate…creating within us the inability to reach out to others and/or even to reach out to God?

Or…

Will we choose hope?! Hope in the unfailing love of a Father in Heaven who loves me…who loves you, more than either of us can even imagine! A loving Father who offers grace, forgiveness, redemption, and healing. Who gives hope to the weary, strength for the journey. He gives light, love, joy and yes…even laughter, especially laughter…. on the path!   

I choose to walk forward carrying my scars, the proof of my healing, into the springtime of my journey…awaiting new life and opportunities that lie on the road ahead.  As Jo Ann Fore says in her book When a Woman Finds Her Voice, "Your story, wrapped in God, around His word, and what He has done in your life will safely lead women home." My heart's cry is that God will use my scars, my life, my experiences, my story to lead other women to the hope and life that can be found in Him. 

How will your story unfold! What are you going to do with it? Are you ready to walk forward into the season of hope? 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit You may abound in hope.
                                                                                               ~Romans 15:13

Today am linking up with Jo Ann and other beautiful women, with freedom and joy and purpose to share our hearts and allow God to use us...our voices...to make a difference, to help women find hope and healing.  This week's topic is, Using Our Stories. Join us and share your story!