The Lord’s Train

…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

Today, September 17th, as I write this I’m thinking about the storm that hit my life five months ago.  The day that flipped my world upside down.  The day that still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.  The moment when joy from our vacation in California turned to great sorrow as I heard the news that my dad was in a motorcycle accident.  The news of my dad’s accident still lingers.  He still continues to fight for his healing.  The tears still come and I still have my rough days.  Thankfully, the rough days are fewer and farther between now.  But they still come every once in a while.  One of those days was yesterday as I sat reflecting on these last five months.

I got to thinking I don’t want this last five months to be in vain.  I want to see God be glorified through this and ultimately I know that’s what my dad would want as well.  So I’m going to take the time to go back over the last five months and reflect on the blessings through the chaos of this storm.  I’m going to come up with at least five blessings from each phase of the storm and use this as a platform to work through my emotions on this.  Please bear with me as I share my heart.  I pray that you will be encouraged to find the blessings in your current storm.  May you find that God is still at work even when the winds are blowing and the rain is pouring down.

In fact, today is a perfect day to write this.  For most of the day it has been raining here in Tampa.  This morning we woke up to the darkness of the storm.  It has been one of those days you just want to stay in bed and enjoy the sound of the rain.  One of those days that make it tough to accomplish anything as the rain draws you in to a tranquil mood.  But life continues.  It still goes on.  We had a doctor appointment this morning, a class for Zion, and had to drop my husband off at work.  Life doesn’t stop when the rain pours down.  Life doesn’t sit still while you brace the heavy winds.  Life just keeps right on going.

That is how I have felt through these last five months.  There have been many days I just wanted to curl up in the corner and stay there until the storm passed.  But quickly God has shown me this storm is going to linger a little while.  There’s not time to sit in the corner.  There’s not time to wait until it passes over.  I still need to love and honor my husband, I still have my son to raise, I still have a house to keep clean, the grocery shopping still needs to get done, and a plethora of other things.  I’m sure you know the feeling!

So here I am, I sit at this computer wanting to write out how I have made it through the storm thus far.  The greatest testimonies we are given often get lost because we never write them down.  We never take the time to stop and look at them from every angle and appreciate the work of the Father through them.  The storms of life will keep coming!  That’s for sure!  But how will you get through it, how will you embrace all that God has for you through it.  I see that there are two trains I can hop aboard.  I can get on the train that leads to Christ and keep my mind focused on eternity.  Or I can hop aboard the negativity train.  I have a choice to dwell on the things of the Lord and His sovereign work through the pain or I can choose to wallow in my misery.

My choice is clear and it’s a choice I will continue to make.  I’m stepping aboard the Lord’s train.  I’m going to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.  I will claim His promises and I will cling to the faithfulness of my God.  I will not dismay, I will not give up, and I will not waste a moment in discouragement.  God is at work even when I can’t see the work.  He is on the throne!  He is faithful!  I trust Him even when the storms of life rage on!

I will start with my first five blessings tomorrow as I go back to the scene of the accident.  I encourage you to walk with me through this series and ask God to help you find your blessings through your current storm.

Dear Father God, Thank you for never stepping off the throne!  Thank you for never taking a break from my life and the storms that I face.  Thank you for being someone I can trust even when life is crazy!  Lord, I pray that You will be glorified through my dad’s accident and his healing process.  I pray that Dad will be a living testimony of Your work.  May this last five months serve to advance Your purpose and may Your kingdom be advanced through the pain of this experience.  Lord, please be with everyone who reads this.  Please encourage each person to find strength in You.  May their hope be restored and may they find joy as they seek You!  Lord, may we be a people who declare Your praises even when the roughest storms hit!

Lovingly Yours,