Ever since you were a little girl you dreamed of your prince charming … only he has yet to come and you’re wondering now if he ever will. Shattered dreams.
When you got married, you meant your vows … “for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness or health, till death do you part.” Your marriage wasn’t perfect, as none are, but nothing could have prepared you for the day he walked out on you. Shattered dreams.
You raised your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, teaching them as the Bible tells you to teach them. But something went wrong. Nothing could have prepared you for the path your child chose to take. She’s broken your heart. Shattered dreams.
All you ever wanted in life was to be a wife and mom. You have a wonderful marriage, but something is missing. A child. You’ve tried for years to conceive. Nothing could have prepared you for the bareness in your life. Shattered dreams.
When you are in the middle of your shattered dreams, your world seems like it is crashing down around you … you have a sense of hopelessness.
BUT … hopelessness is an illusion! There is always hope. Even in the most shattered dream of your life, there is hope.
“You have colon cancer.” Those words paralyzed my dear friend, Leigh Anne. I imagine how her thoughts immediately soared toward her little boy, Will and her sweet Pastor husband, Dale.
Shattered dreams. Yet, when she received notice from her doctor that her test results revealed “progression of the disease, she sat down and jotted this email to her closest friends and family:
Romans 5:3-5a is one of my very favorite passages of scripture. It has become such a source of comfort to me these last two years. It says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us…”
Well, God is going to allow more hope into my life.
My latest CT scan showed, for the first time since I started treatment, “progression of the disease.” While there did not seem to be more tumors found on my liver, some of the tumors that are still there increased in size. While admittedly I was disappointed with the news, the fact is God is still on his throne, He is still in control and the size of those tumors did not surprise or shake him one bit. … I have felt (and still feel) both privileged and humbled by the fact that God chose me to run this race. …
I have more faith and more hope than ever and I am still anxiously awaiting my healing miracle. Until then, I will run my race with much more urgency and encourage you my sweet loved ones and friends to do the same … Living with hope, Leigh Anne
Are you living with hope or in hopelessness? God would never waste our sorrows and pain!
I’ve heard it said, “The same sun that melts the butter hardens the clay.” In other words, the same circumstances that cause someone to seek the face of God and allow Him to change and mold her, cause someone else to shake her fist at God in anger and bitterness.
We have a choice to live in hopelessness, or to live in Hope. We live in Hope by trusting the hand of God even when we can’t see His hand. We live in Hope by pouring ourselves into the Truth of God’s Word and soaking in His Truth when our feelings tell us to believe otherwise.
“Father, I long for you to use my circumstances for Your glory and change me in the process. Help me to keep my eyes on You and grow my trust and faith each day as I seek Your face. I’m choosing today to live with Hope, because I know that You would never waste my sorrow or pain. -In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen!”
Are you dealing with shattered dreams or difficult circumstances?
- Ch…ch…ch…CHANGES Are Coming in 2017 for TMI - December 27, 2016
- What New Thing Are You Ready to See God Do in Your Life in 2017? - December 26, 2016
- Heaviness and Newness - December 23, 2016
