What better time than now the day before Easter to talk about God. Everyone who knows me knows I am a believer. Doris Jean was a believer and knew that the only way she made it through most of her hardships was through her belief in God. She would have bible studies at our house growing up and she never made me participate. If I wanted to she was glad, if I didn't she didn't say a word. God wasn't pushed down my throat but she made sure I knew where he stood in my life. The biggest message that stands out to me while Doris Jean was alive what that God is love. Not judgment, not hate, not chaos, not confusion, LOVE! From what I have been told when my mom was being beaten by her first husband, was left moneyless, and had no food in the house, she reached out to local churches and they turned their back on her. She decided back then that church was not the place for her. She read her bible daily and lived by the word of God but I never went to church with my mom as she just didn't go.
When I was growing up during the early years when my dad was an alcoholic I was often left to deal with my own emotions and feelings about what was going on. I always felt like someone was watching over me, protecting me. Giving me that BOLDNESS to know that I was going to come out of this and I would be ok. That is a feeling that surrounds me to this day and I know it to be God. When you know who is leading you, you follow with a sense of freedom and the understanding that no matter what you are up against you will be ok and come out stronger. That has been an absolute game changer for me through all of the hard times I have faced in my lifetime. I have said this before, I look at challenges more now like what is this trying to teach me rather than why is this happening to me. That shift in my thinking has really been life-changing.
Just this past week I had the opportunity to talk with a co-worker of my husband's. He tells me he reads my blog and really likes it. He then tells me he is an Athiest. I say well, how about you don't judge me for believing and I won't judge you for not. He was a charming young man with a young family that I really enjoyed talking to. The more we spoke the more I understood why he wasn't a believer. I believe we are all God's children. There are opportunities in our lives where we have had encounters that have changed our lives and we know that was a God thing. Other times we brush them off and continue to explain things away. A lot of times when we have encounters we get scared and many of us decide we don't want a relationship, we don't want to give up whatever we have told ourselves that we would have to give up to have that relationship. Some of us are so deep in our mess that we are not even open for an encounter or an experience and we are left searching for a lifetime for the meaning of our lives.
I will share in future blogs some of the churches I have gone to throughout my life and what they have meant to me and my family. Some have been a good experience and some not so much. Always a learning experience.
God has been good to me. I could never or would never deny HIS love for me. There have been times in my life, like Doris Jean where HE was all I had. He makes me take a good look at myself on a regular basis, corrects me like a Father should, and teaches me valuable life lessons.
I believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins. His love for us is like no other. I think of the ultimate sacrifice that was made on our behalf and it takes my breath away. I want to honor him throughout my life, always.
It is interesting to me that some have questioned my love for God because I drink alcohol occasionally, have friends that curse regularly, and listen to all genres of music. I am who I am. These things have nothing to do with my relationship with God and folks need to mind their business. My relationship with God is tight, I know where we stand and his approval in this lifetime is the only approval that matters to me. That is me being BOLD!!! See that! :)
Wherever you stand with God, I hope you have peace. I hope you will be open to a relationship with God as it has been a life changer for me. I want that kind of love and peace for every single person reading this post. Start small.. Start talking to him once and a while not just when you desperately need HIM to quickly work something out for you, just a hello, how you doing? Thank him for the things you are grateful for, talk about your goals, the type of person you are trying to be, and the relationship you want to have with him and others. I am telling you, it is good stuff!! I talk to him every single day, throughout the day. I think the facepalm emoji may have been created by him because of the conversations I have with him on a daily basis.
There is so much more to be said about God but I am going to stop here. You are God's masterpiece no matter where you are in life, no matter how much you think you messed up, and no matter what others think about you, HE loves and adores you! Be BOLD my friends! Happy Easter.
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