Survive It

Today, I was vacuuming our bedroom, and I felt God say, "a heart that endures."

God gives and takes away, and it's taken a couple tragedies in my life to realize exactly what that means. Think of a tragedy that you have overcome. I say "overcome" because you are here. We are here. Although we may have dealt with some of the most difficult circumstances, we aren't dead. We live to tell about it, and thus, God gives us a heart that endures.

From the outside looking in at my life, you might think I don't know tragedy. I'm blessed with hardworking, Godly parents who set excellent examples for my siblings and me. I have a loving husband who works hard so that I can shop and play all day. I smile and laugh a lot. I dance a lot. I sing a lot. It's true: I'm a happy girl and I have so much to be thankful for. But I wouldn't know thankfulness had I not experienced my share of pain.

Through my heartache, I've learned that it's ok to be sad for a season. But a time comes to stand up, shake it off, and move on. Of course, we won't forget the tragedy itself, because that's how we learn and love and forgive and appreciate and believe. We just have to refuse to allow the painful experiences to pave the road for what is to come. Instead of wearing our hurt as clothes, we should just let it be a ring or bracelet that we put on every once in a while. Like that precious piece of jewelry that doesn't quite go with a lot of your wardrobe, but it is still important to you so when you occasionally don it, you wear it with style and remembrance.
God wants us to take the time to hurt, but He also wants us to depend on Him for strength, and then use that strength to overcome. We all hurt. We all deal with horrible situations, whether self-inflicted or from an outward source. But we all have a God who loves us and redeems us and gives us hope.

This post, so far, sounds a lot like a devotional in a church bulletin, and that's not my intention. I just feel like maybe I was supposed to say this today, instead of making sarcastic jokes about my rough life as a Marine wife.

I hope God's victory over my tragedy motivates me to maintain a positive attitude and a reliance upon Him. I hope I can see His love in the painful times, rather than place blame on Him and question His will for me. I hope someone else can be encouraged by the triumph He gives me.

We are equipped with the capability to experience tragedy and survive it. It's normal to be sad, but we aren't supposed to sulk forever because there's a world out there and we are alive and able to participate. Where we go after the tragedy is the real story. How we allow it to affect us, and, in turn, how we affect the world, is our decision. In essence, after tragedy, pain and weakness are given a mighty opportunity to actually become strength. We can actually be better than we were before the painful experience. I hope I am always getting better.

Here's to the chance for a comeback!