Redeeming Love

Have any of you read this book? It is amazing!! It's a book about a beautiful girl (Angel), who from a child, has a rough life. Her father is a man married to another women, other than her mother. Her mother ends up in prostitution and so does Angel. Michael Hosea sees her and God tells him that she's the woman for him to marry. I know he never thought he'd marry a prostitute. The book is about their lives, and their struggles and how God speaks to them. At one point in the book Angel leaves Michael and he prays and prays for her. God was teaching him about faith. I know this book is a sort of Christian Romance book, but that chapter where Michael was struggling with faith really spoke to me. I know Michael wanted to go after Angel, but God wanted Michael to trust Him. Michael wanted Angel to be there with him, but he knew that God was going to do something wonderful in Angel's life that otherwise would not have happened had she stayed with Michael.

This week has been a rough week with faith. There are some days where I have great faith, even bigger than a mustard seed. Then there are other days where I can't even find faith like dust (I'm not sure what is smaller than a mustard seed, but you get the idea). I've been praying for some very specific, very big things to happen this year. I know I serve a big God and He can do anything, even things that seem impossible. The hard part is not interfering with what He wants to do. I like to be in control, I like to be prepared and have a plan. Sometimes God wants to get me out of my box and experiment with new things like trying His plan instead of mine. The things I'm praying for this year are things that I have no control over. I can't force financial blessing on Josh's career, I can't force healthy pregnancies to happen for my cousin, my co-worker and myself. I know that God is really teaching me so many things right now. I had felt like everything was great, I loved the Lord, my family, and my husband. It seems like just when you start to feel comfortable, just when things are going great, God goes and stretches me. I know it's something that has to be done and I know I'll trust and love Him more at the end of this. The stretching just hurts sometimes, it's uncomfortable and sometimes I just want it to be over.

So if any of you are going through "stretching" please know you're not alone and it gets better. There are going to be bad days, but just think of the results at the end. It's like working out. I go to the gym just about every day and although I don't like it, I like the way I feel when I'm done. When I don't go I feel guilty and not strong. It's a love/hate thing:)