God is Good

Today was the first day of a two day conference at our church on Suffering. What an encouraging reminder of God's goodness and sovereignty! Oh, that I would live each day with the realization that my moments are in His hands! It is easy to forget that life is not about me when something happens outside of my plans. This last month was a very unexpected experience for me. I ended up in the hospital with intense pain, and to my surprise found out that I needed to have two procedures done for gall stones. Such an event was NOT on my to-do list. I was overwhelmed at the thought of having to recover from surgery with three children that need constant care. Thoughts of, "Lord, I can be flexible, but how can I be that flexible?" resonated in my mind. I don't presume to know why God allowed that circumstance, but I do know that I have learned that as much as I was willing to be flexible, I realized that I was not so willing to be broken. I was fine with God holding the reins as long as I could have my hand on them in case I needed to say, "Whoa!" I am thankful now that I look back that I went through that strange event if only to shake me up a bit and help me to seek my dear Savior ever deeper. How good He was to thwart my plans and show me who is really in control, and to challenge how much I really love my God. My mother shared this verse with me and I found it to be so helpful: "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9 How encouraging and amazing it is to know that my God is in control of the way that I take!