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Blessings through suffering


TBone

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HI everybody,

I spent 90 days in a recovery from alcoholism program in Atlanta and in the treatment process found my way to God and am so grateful for that.I could not face this disease had I not done it.At the treatment center there were Monday night spiritual life meetings at a church in downtown Atlanta.Volunteers from every walk of life came there just to help us find some sort of spirtuality as we were all completely bankrupt in that area.One volunteer that I did not get to meet was struggling with cancer and died after a 3 year battle.She had written many stories during her battle and since I got diagnosed another friend of mine sent me a couple of things she had written.I am posting this one because it really hit home with the way I feel now since being diagnosed.I hope that some of you get something out of it too.I am praying for us all.TBone

Blessings through suffering

By:Jean Willingham

An overwhelming awareness of blessings while suffering is truly one of God’s gifts.It makes no sense but suffering can be a blessing.It is a physical change that can result in a spiritual joy.Pain eliminates the insignificance of life and touches on the eternal.As with so many of life’s challenges,we simply have to experience in order to understand.Without experience we must trust that it is true.Believing in the things we can not see or understand is faith.A strong faith results in God becoming tangible and directing our lives,which become full of Joy regardless of circumstances.

Our suffering takes us into a black hole that darkens our entirety,a crucifixion of our past mental and emotional being.Through God’s divine help,we are risen from the darkness (ignorance and despair) into the light of consciousness,an awareness of the true meaning of life.Our life becomes close to Our Maker and we follow His plans for us instead of our own.In other words,we go through depression,allow God to get our priorities straight and come back to the reality of the beautiful things of life and the meaningful things of life.We discover that love is all that matters and God being love will teach us how to live in love when we stay in close communion with Him though prayer,praise,the reading of The Word and awareness of His presence.

With each nail (pain),we come closer to Christ.We identify with His suffering.We can not bare the pain alone so we draw nearer to our creator.We are crucified in Him and it is not we who live but Christ that lives in us.In other words,we die to our self-centeredness and become Christ-centered.This transformation is a miracle,the miracle of becoming who we are suppose to be,a new creature in Christ.

This joy and peace that is abundant,when we believe in Christ,is easily ours.It is so simple yet it is a mystery that we don’t understand so we make it very difficult.All we have to do is ask God to forgive our sins and believe in His son,Jesus and ask for Him (His Spirit) to come live with us in our heart.This is the beginning of a spirtitual journey that will be with us now and remain forever.We do not have to understand it.We simply have to do it and accept it.

Illness,injury,or the loss of a loved one is not what we as human beings wish for ourselves or others.However,when we are open to God and allow Him to do his handiwork without standing in the way,miraculous things will happen.God is faithful to His promises and He has promised not to give us more than we can handle.He has asked us to praise Him in all things and told us that He lives in our praises.By praising God and giving Him thanks for everything in all situations,He will bring good even in our darkest times.Our God is an awesome God and He reigns from our hearts.He does not desire for us to be miserable.Misery is choice.He wants us to become so helpless that we have to depend on Him for everything.He created us for Himself and we are not complete until we give ourselves to Him.We choose joy because we choose Him.He is our savior and He saves us from ourselves.

The greater our love for Him,the more we become the image of Him.He created us in His likeness and we need to allow Him to bring us to the perfection He desires in us.No,we can never be perfect during our lifetime but we can strive toward perfection,a wholeness with Him.

What is all this Christian talk?

Suffering is blessing.

We are Saints and yet we are sinners.

We are full of Joy and yet we suffer.

We are at peace and yet people are acting out.

We are alive and yet we are in eternal life.

When we are weak,we are strong.

All of this IS crazy talk.Jesus talked in a contradictory way so that unbelievers of his day would not understand..Even today,nothing makes sense to the non-believer.The people who do not love Jesus are confused by all of this double-talk.When we begin to believe in Him,He makes everything become clear.God removes the confusion and we understand the great truths of the Bible,His living Word.

Do we have to suffer to become whole?Whole meaning complete mentally and spiritually.The answer is no.We do not have to suffer to be a strong Christian.However,much is revealed to the person in sickness that would not be understood if it were not for suffering.It is like sunshine that is seen differently after a week of rainy,gloomy days or a glorious springtime after a treacherous winter.It is so difficult to give common explanations to things of eternal significance.There are no words to explain creation or love or anything of God.We can simply try to touch our inner beings through the words that we read and write.

This poetry was written to awaken your soul and give you a new understanding of who you are and who you can become.My prayer is that this poetry will be of comfort to you,and that you will have clarity of understanding.Life does not stop because we are suffering.Life can spring eternal with a new meaning and insight.We can rejoice in the gifts that we receive when we have a personal relationship with Christ.These gifts are the gifts of the spirit:Love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness ,faithfulness,gentleness and self-control

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Thank you so very much for this post! I really needed to read this today> As a matter of fact, I have read it three times now. For so long after Dennis died, I could not bear to hear one more person talk to me about God's plans. I didn't want there to be a reason for his death. I didn't want to believe that when one door closes, a window opens. I didn't want to be told that time would make things better. I didn't want to hear that God had good things in store for me. I didn't want to be told that I would ever feel better!

But...you know what? All of those things that were said to me so often in those days following Dennis' death were all true. Some of the things I have yet to understand...like ....what was God's reason? But I am seeing new windows flying open every single day! I am learning that healing does come with time. Granted, I need a lot more time. I do know that things will be better....they are already. Thinks, and life, will never be as it was before. That part of my life, the part I spent with Dennis, was a wonderful, magical time! But, I do know that God has not and will not desert me. He will guide me through this life...and I will have my beautiful angel Dennis to give me and extra hand!

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Thank You Tbone

I woke about an hour ago and this was promising to be one of those days when my resovle was gone. I feel the emotions of loss and pain stirring in me. I recieved an email that lifted me up then I read this wonderful post. It reinforces what I found in my email. I needed it so badly today. Bless you for sharing. Lillian

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