It might hurt a little

I had an interesting conversation with one of my friends last night. We were talking about change in our lives and how maybe we need to experience a little "hurt" and push through it to see the cool stuff that God has in store for us. She used the example of running, and how sometimes we want to stay at a slower pace because it seems easier and yet it is actually harder on our joints. It's not until we just push through and up the pace, that our joints will thank us for the smoother, less jolted run. She then compared it to being a mom and doing the day to day stuff and let's face it, it's a thankless job. We chauffeur our kids around, makes lunches, wipe bottoms, wipe faces, wipe counter tops and no one really says thanks (at least not very often). The thing is, you are in this stage of life for a very specific reason. God wants you where you are and He will use your circumstances for good if we seek Him. So the question is, do we embrace our circumstances or do we continually fight God, shaking our fists at him at Him in rebellion?

I often struggle with this very thing. Just when I think I have things figured out and feel like I'm doing okay, my circumstances start changing. Really though, I didn't have anything figured out! Why on earth do I even try to take the reigns when it comes to my life? Are they not much more safe in the hands of my heavenly Father?

When disciplining children, you often hear of parents telling them, "this is going to hurt me much more than it hurts you". I am confident the child does not agree with this at all, but as a parent I realize the truth in that statement. I hate the look I get from my kids when I need to discipline them, but if I avoid it I am not doing my job in raising them as Christ calls me to. Don't you think that Christ feels the same way when he sees us trying to control our own lives without Him? Yes, He gave us free will and we can make our own decisions, but tell me, when you and I do things our own way how does that normally turn out? Yeah, me too. I make a mess of things.

So although you may be going through something big or small that seems to hurt a little, know that God will use that circumstance to make you stronger in Him. It may even give you a stronger platform in which to speak to someone else who doesn't know Christ and is going through the same thing.

I'll leave you with this verse from Hebrews 12:1
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Grateful,
Katy