Lately I have been just in a pure praise portion of my life. I have been so grateful and thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful relationship with my mother. For years we have had, shall we say, a less than savory, relationship. Now, the Lord has given me back the years that the cankerworm had stolen. Just like He promised that He would do. We truly enjoy one another's company. We get along. We have long conversations, meaningful prayer time and talk about just anything and have a really great time together. I cannot in mere words ever express how much this time with my mother has meant to me and still means.
The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy and eventful and very enjoyable at the same time. I have been to Memphis to see Elvis Presley Tribute Artists compete for a world wide title and spent time with my wonderful niece Sonia and my sister Betty. Also, got to meet one of Sonia's friends Tammy. She was a very interesting and sweet person and I enjoyed meeting her. We got to go to thrift stores and eat out and talk and visit and have a wonderful time just being together. I have gotten to visit with some of my very best friends in the world while in Blytheville and Manila and I have been feeling so blessed and honored to have been able to spend good quality time with them and their families. God has truly blessed me with some marvelous, caring and loving friends that could never be replaced.
I have been so happy to have met so many new friends in the last few months since I have been back in the Gould. Like my great friend Judy. She is truly one of a kind. Kind,generous, understanding and honest, very honest. Which is one of the most important qualities to me in a friend. Everyone has their pet peeves and mine is dishonest people. I just can't abide them and my friends all know this about me. So when I chose friends, I pick the honest, shoot from the hip kind of folks. Well..someone like myself. I am the same way and in the so doing of this honest, shoot from the hip sort of way that I am and almost everyone in my circle is, I tend from time to time to manage to offend or hurt someone. I didn't to my knowledge say anything mean, uncaring or certainly untrue but, the person is still offended, and sounds quite angry actually at me for basically telling the truth. Well...mercy here we go again. The first thing that came to my mind when I learned of this situation is, well things have been going so wonderfully for me for quite some time now and although I have fought battles in the spirit as we all do from time to time things have been relatively quiet in my world for a few months now and I have really enjoyed it so very much.
I have had a few heartbreaking moments but that just happens in life and you shake yourself off and move on. This, though, blind sighted me with a sucker punch that felt like a wrecking ball just hit me in the gut and my first instinct was to run into the proverbial cave and hide for a few days or weeks or months or whatever but, you know what? I am not going to do that!! I have done absolutely nothing wrong and I refuse to let the enemy of my soul get me off of my course that God has assigned me to. I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength to do whatever needs to be done or whatever He has called me to do.
I am more than an conqueror through the blood of Jesus and through my testimony. My testimony is this: I once was lost and now I am found, I once was blind and now I can see. I once was fearful, overwhelmed, full of remorse, shame, guilt and an uneasy unhappy life was all that I had but, now through the love and the blood of Jesus Christ the son of the most High God, I am saved, healed, delivered, and joyful!! Glory to God and I refuse to be otherwise. It has taken almost my entire life to be this happy, peaceful and joyful and if it hairlips every devil in hell, I will not be moved! Satan loves nothing more than for brothers and sisters in Christ to war against one another. I will not have a part in any such thing. I have had enough of that to last me a lifetime. Not happening devil. I submit myself to God and I resist you with all authority! so get!
Last Summer I allowed myself to become offended and it wrecked my whole world there for a while and so now I have a little personal insight into this "offended" thing so I have to stay on course, hold fast to my confession, and move forward. Lord knows when I got offended I acted out like a spoiled child and my friends hung in there with me and loved me in spite of it and through it and now all is well. Had they not loved me and had acted out themselves in retaliation or fussed and argued with me it would have been so much worse and the gap may never have been mended but, in wisdom and grace they loved me and just moved forward with what God called them to do and didn't let my foolish ways keep them from doing what they were supposed to be doing. Oh I am sure it made them think that I had lost my mind but they still loved me in spite of the whole situation. So, now I get to be the one that loves and tries to mend the wounded, offended one. Funny how it works like that. I believe it's called you reap what you sow. So since grace and love was extended to me,now I know better how to extend the same to someone very dear to me.
~Priscilla Hinds~
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