Growth

My pastor was out of town this past Sunday and asked me to provide the message.

Do what?

You have got to be kidding me.

In actuality, God has been preparing me for the last few weeks to talk about an extremely trying time in our lives. I knew when it happened that it would be something that could be a used for God's glory. To turn darkness into light. To be a message to others.

So, I did something completely not of me. I did not prepare.

No notes.

No practice attempts.

No other preparation than prayer and Bible study.

I told the congregation that I wanted the message to be about Him, not me. I knew that if I prepared, if I made notes, if I practiced what I would say, it would be more of me and less of Him.

That wasn't what I was going for.

To be honest, I did not even really know the extent of the content that I would cover.

Would I talk about my mother-in-law? Would I talk about angel babies? Would I talk about the night that turned our world upside down? I didn't know.

But He gave me the words. He gave me the message. He gave me the ability to allow others to see what they needed to see.

I didn't choose my life. I would not have chosen some things for me. But I'm exactly where God wants me to be.

It's those times when we cling to Him the hardest, and more than likely those are the times we would choose to be elsewhere, that we grow the most spiritually. Those times are good for us.