It's amazing how easy it is to become common with something that is not common at all, but miraculous. What we once praise God for becomes something we take for granted. It is the human condition. That's why it is so important to keep your testimony close to your heart and always on your lips.
Back in 2008, I had to spend a few months on a walker. The doctors were not sure if I had Multiple Sclerosis or Lupus or something else going on. I was having seizures which at times caused me to wet myself or bite blood from my tongue. I was on so many meds/downers that I was rarely in condition to spend time with my husband at the time or son. I was in such bad shape, I prayed for God to take me. It wasn't the first time I'd prayed that. And it wasn't the first time that the Holy Spirit comforted my heart and gave me the strength to keep believing.
From birth until this very hour, my life has been a series of challenges. When I was young, I felt that I was the only one being abused, the only one with alcoholic or drug addicted parents and a dad who was missing-in-action. My grandmother raised me but she was illiterate. So I could not be what other kids were, footloose and fancy-free. I was burdened down with responsibility very early on. I was forced into a life I then resented. And on top of it all, we were very poor. I mean very poor, like $162 per month welfare checks. But God had a plan for it all.
No matter who you are, you'll have times when you want to complain about your current struggles. But when you call to remembrance the former things, the deliverance, the victories you've already celebrated, it brings clarity to your now and causes you to see God in a different light. When I was going through abuse, physical and sexual, I felt I was alone in this big ole mean world. And I felt sorry for myself until it turned to anger. Then I was mad at everyone and myself. I was mad at God. My perspective was skewed. I was focusing on the challenges, the pain and the desires that had gone unmet.
These days, I still go through things, but I am quick to remind myself that focusing on the problem makes it bigger. Focusing on my personal relationship with our Creator makes all things small. Perspective is found when you view things through the broader scope of eternity. God loves us now and forever, but His primary goal is to ensure that we make it to forever. As a loving Father, He does what needs to be done and our emotions are not priority with Him, though He is moved with compassion for us. Likewise, when we take the emotional aspects out of control of whatever we're going through, we can make wise decisions. We can stay joyful during storms. We can have peace in the middle of confusion.
Keep your testimony alive in your mind and heart. Share it over and over again. It keeps you in a place of humility with God and power over ANY situation. I love you all by choice, on purpose! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter for daily inspiration. Also, I recommend you pre-order your copy of 31 Thoughts That Lead to Peace.