Well, it's been more than two months since my last blog post--not so great for someone who says she likes to blog. I have lots of excuses but I think the best one is that I just don't want to write about any old thing just to have something to post...or just to fill a quota...or just to get people to read. It's nice to have goals but if I don't have something to say, I don't want to say just anything.
However, my lack of something to say came to a screeching halt last night after the Sister Circle. Wait.... What's the Sister Circle? I can hear you asking the question, because it sounds like a cult or an exclusive club, but it's neither. It's a monthly get-together for ladies at my church that want a chance to socialize, eat dinner or dessert or drink fancy coffee, and learn something all at the same time. I love it. it's one of my favorite things that I get to do and I think it's because I...love...variety. Maybe you're someone who just likes to eat with others, or someone who just likes to socialize and have a good time, or someone who doesn't see the purpose in doing anything that allows you to come away without learning something. Well, Sister Circle is all three rolled into one and as a bonus I really love all of the ladies who attend. Those who know me well know how much I adore variety. After all, I'm one of those annoying people who can't wear her hair in the same style for more than a few days in a row.
Anyway, I digress. Usually at Sister Circle we have around 20 women. The players change but that's the average number. This month I got busy and didn't badger or cajole anyone into attending. The result of my non-badgering and non-cajoling ways resulted in only around 10 ladies attending. But, I think it was one of the best nights we've had. Sometimes a smaller group lends itself to a more intimate discussion and more feelings and experiences being shared. That's what happened last night and it was wonderful. Don't get me wrong. I also like the nights when 25 women show up but the dynamic is different. Not bad, just different.
The ladies of Sister Circle have chosen to do a particular book study and lately we've been studying the book of Joshua...like in the Bible. One of the main themes of Joshua is God's faithfulness to His children and the absolute bank-on-it fact that He always keeps his promises. This is true today just like it was then. The focus of our discussion last night turned out to be about God testing our faith in Him. That's right. God uses circumstances in our lives to test our faith and whether we are truly going to trust Him to bring us through. And guess what?? God rewards faithfulness. We had some wonderful interaction with stories shared and tears shed but the message was that Faith Isn't Faith Until It's Tested.
I won't share anyone else's story of God testing her faith, but I will share my own in case it's meaningful to someone. I grew up in a very secure family with parents who trusted God to take care of them, but didn't really talk much to my brother and me about struggles in life. We were protected from the harsher realities of life. They took care of me and my brother and, honestly, when I was growing up there wasn't much for which I had to lean on God. I trusted God in my own way but I had never really ever had to go through anything that tested my faith.
Sidebar example of how much I was protected from the realities of life: I was talking to my Mom recently about Jac starting to drive in a couple years and how my friends with kids of driving age have talked about how expenseive car insurance is when you have a teenage driver. I had no idea and told her that Dad never mentioned the expense of car insurance when I was a teenage driver. Her response? She laughed and said, "Robin, you really believe your Dad would ever have told you/complained to you about how expensive something was? No way. He just paid it and didn't say a word about it." That's my Dad.
I coasted through my childhood and college and getting married and never really had to trust in God. I always prayed about big decisions and endeavored to do what I thought God's will was for me, but my faith was not truly tested until I was 26 years old. I remember the exact circumstance and I shared it last night with our small gathering of the Sister Circle. Lindy and I had been married for about three years and were expecting Jac. I was very pregnant and we were trying to sell one house and move into another one because Lindy was on staff at a church in Illinois and we were still living in St. Charles, MO. (The full story of the-buying-of-one-house-and-the-selling-of-another is really a blog post for another day. It's a story of God's provision and blessing while learning patience). Anyway, to say that we were having some difficulty with selling our house while having to rehab the other one while I was pregnant is an understatement. I was full of fear and doubt yet I remember the exact moment when God made His faithfulness real to me. It was a test of my faith that I had never experienced before. He used Lindy to turn on the light of understanding in my heart that had never had cause to be lit before.
I would love to continue the story, but as my blog posts have turned out to be too lengthy most of the time, you're going to have to come back tomorrow to read the rest. This story is to be continued....
No comments:
Post a Comment