Lessons

So....God just really taught me some good lessons tonight. 

Lesson #1: Go to my small group even when I don't want to. Like tonight. I was really feeling down about Sam being away, and I was getting really creative about why I shouldn't go...and then at the last minute Sam called a friend of ours and got them to pick me up. So I guess that meant I was going.... 

Even though I was the only one there without a hubby present, it was still such a blessing to be around a such a godly group of women and men. I mean, I feel so much more refreshed now and just comforted from knowing that I there are people out there investing in my life and that I can do the same in theirs. 

I feel like the table has turned again in a way. For a little while there, ever since I graduated from college, I've been thinking, wow, I'm kind of getting old...because all the kids that I saw in elementary school are know somehow in college?? But, I'm the youngest one in my small group, and Sam and I have been married a really short amount of time compared to the average 2-5 years of couples in the small group (not to mention that 4 of them are pregnant). But, I'm glad that we can learn from them. I've been praying for something like that for a very long time. 

Lesson #2: Still Expect Blessings in tough situations. I love how the earlier part of my day was a little drab, and after visiting with other people tonight, God used that to really lift my heart. 

Lesson #3: If at all possible, go to bed early whenever you can:) 

That's all the lessons I have for today!

-wb 

Out with the boys, and on to the Men!

So between continually setting up this apartment, looking for a job, a car, keeping up with my husband, and free lancing to help pay some bills, blogging has been a low priority on the list. Which is unfortunate, because I do like to get my thoughts out there somehow.

Lately I've been thinking about about a friend of mine whose going through a really tough time. Boy trouble, however crazy that might sound...haha. But this particular story is one that hits home for me. I've been through the same heartache that she is right in the middle of, and it, quite frankly, sucks. A break up, the kind that knocks you off your feet, and leaves your head spinning...thinking, as your mouth can't quite close, "what the heck just happened?" And then reality sets in, and you find your world a little upside down.  Wow, I know that feeling. And I hate that a close friend is going through a time like that, and I can't even physically be there to give her a hug...( I did send her a "phone hug" if that counts, but i'm pretty skeptical about that.) 

While we were talking about the "situation" last night, I was taken back to those same thoughts I had, that she voiced. The biggest one being, "Why does God let stuff like this happen?" Especially when we think we are trusting Him to lead us. I think that was one of the toughest things for me work through. I know my friend will have many of those days ahead. 

But as a hard as it was to go through a trial like that, I wouldn't have changed it for anything. I am better for it. And I believe that God doesn't just let anyone go through hard times. I believe He lets those He wants to use most go through times of heartache, sorrow, and pain.......to really know what its like to set up house in the valley of the shadow. Why? I might not know the full reason until I see Him. But I do know that because of what I went through, I was able to encourage my friend that she is not alone, and that although it is hard now, God's promises remain, and He will set her back on higher ground. Because He has done that for me...time and time again. I would never have imagined two and half years ago that I would be married to Sam Brown right now. But praise God that He had those plans for me, because they were a whole lot better than what I was thinking....I look forward to seeing what the Lord has down the road for her. Like me, I hope she'll realize that the Lord never wastes our pain, and holds us even tighter during those times. 

As for the boy, I like her Mom's advice, "You're done with the boys, now on to the men!"