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"Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed." -Linda Wooten

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Backseat Sermons - The Beauty in the Back Roads

God really uses the strangest situations to speak right to us. The girls and I were on our way back from picking up lunch after church today, when Nevaeh straight up preached right to my heart with one comment. 

I am not a fan of interstate. I like back roads. Those who know me well, know I would rather take a scenic backroad to get somewhere over the monotony of interstate any day. So as we are driving one of those back roads home – here’s the conversation that went down:

Nevaeh: “Mama, do you take this road to work in the morning?”
 
Me: “Yes, most days.”
 
Nevaeh: “You like back roads don’t ya mama? They’re a lot prettier than interstate.”
 
Me: “Yeah. I like the scenery.”
 
Nevaeh: “Yeah. You get to see a lot more. I like it to. It’s almost like the pretty things are hidden. But you don’t get to see those things at all on interstate.”
 
Oh my! What a word!! When on the journey to the destination God has ordained for us – we often want to take the interstate route. The shortcut, straight through, easiest, fastest route there. But taking that route causes us to miss out on the beauty found on the back road, the hard path. The path with twists and turns and uncertainty. The path with hidden beauty, where it may take a little effort on our part to find the good stuff hidden.
 
The past 2 years of our life have been a drive down the back road. There have been hills we didn’t have the strength to climb. There have been more twists and turns than we would like to admit. There were times when I asked God “Are we there yet?” but oh the beauty we discovered along the way. We have joy in these trials because they have indeed produced perseverance. I am thankful for the strength our marriage has gained by taking these twists and turns together. I am thankful for the strengthened faith built by trusting the Lord when we couldn’t see where we were going.
 
Chris and I were just having a conversation the other day, about what a difference one year makes. Last year at this time – we were at one of our lowest points. But we were holding on to God with faith that He would stay true to His promises to us and see us through that storm and boy, did He ever. I could have never imagined we would be where we are today. What God has done for us over the past 2 years is nothing short of a miracle (that is a blog post for a different day.) But the wisdom we have gained, the blessings we have seen may not have been visible on the easy path.
 
So today I encourage you – if God has you on a tough road, have faith and look for the blessings all around you. They’re there!
 


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