Wednesday, May 11
In the last issue of "Today's Christian Woman" there was an article about having a less than astounding testimony and about how God can use even those of us with blah stories to tell. My friend, L, and I discussed how rewarding that article was for us to read. You see, we have blah stories to tell about our conversion experiences.The two of us were (are) blessed beyond measure to have been reared in Christian homes. There was never a time when we weren't aware of God or His presence in our lives. We grew up in church. We accepted Christ at an early age and were faithful to him throughout our lives, with the natural ebbs and flows of growing up factored into the equation.
Our perceptions of the rebellion we engaged in were a little skewed. To most, our rebellious incidents would have been little more than a blip on the moral radar. We were priviledged, fortunate, blessed. And that, in all honesty, makes for a not very riveting conversion story.
But when I think of a testimony, I think of testifying to what God has done, to what He can do, to what He has promised to do in our lives. And that is where we have a story worth hearing. Because I know that God is in our daily lives - in the messy, dirty, difficult, trying, funny, joyous, spontaneous, crazy, amazing everydayness of our lives.
I have always loved Psalms 30:5 which says,
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
I find such comfort in that verse. God doesn't promise that there won't be difficult days or that we won't have times when we anger or disappoint Him, and He doesn't say that we won't struggle or weep. But He does remind us that joy will come, that there will be brighter, more delightful days. And I take comfort in the difficult times in remembering and anticipating joyful times because I know they're promised to me.
My conversion story is that of a little girl talking to her mother on a Monday night while her father watched Monday Night Football. It's not an exciting story. But my stories of God carrying me through difficult times and then giving me joyous times... those tell more of God's faith than any dramatic tale I could envision. He has been there for us when Mike's mother died after a long and difficult battle with MS. He was there when Mike and his brother had to adjust to the idea of their father remarrying. He was there when we discovered and had to adjust to Griff's allergies. He was there when I was sick through my pregnancy with Eliza. He was there when my doctor said they were going to take Eliza immediately - despite being only three and a half pounds and seven weeks early - or I would die. He was (is) there as we've struggled with the demands of Mike's doctoral work. He was there as we struggled with the stresses and tensions of careers and family differences.
God is there in the little snikkety things of daily life. And that, for me, is where I need Him the most. It isn't difficult for me to trust God with the big picture things of my life, with my future. But I have trouble letting go of the details of life, and that is exactly where I find God meeting me each and every day. And He is gracious to accept me in whatever condition He might find me in those days. And that, I think, is the greatest testimony I could give - of God's faithfulness and constancy.
[ posted by Chel on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 ]
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