My Ways are Your Ways Jesus!

Nine years ago we were faced with a decision that I never saw coming.  Both my husband and I had lost our jobs, our home, our dignity, and for a while our hope.  We were living hotel to hotel and trying to stay positive for our three children.  During this time, I did not recognize that Jesus was stripping off all of our dead branches and planting fruitful ones.  This was such a hard time for us.  At the time, we did not see all that Jesus was doing for us.  We were still stuck in our mindset of how did we end up like this, why us?

What we did not realize is that Jesus was growing something fresh in us.  He began to place people in our lives to help us grow in our faith, in our love, and in our hope in Him.  Looking back, I can now see all the angels He had placed surrounding us. 

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows you need these things. But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

Luke 12:29-31

As time progressed, we found ourselves living with one of our life group families.  For weeks they would offer to us to live with them until we got back on our feet.  Every time we kept saying no.  Finally after depleting what we had in funds from living hotel room to hotel room, we said yes.  They repeatedly said to us, their house was God’s house and everyone was welcome.  At the time I did not understand what that meant.  My own thoughts and ways of thinking were not in tune with Jesus’ plan for us.  Overtime through their love, I began to realize that everything we have on this Earth is a gift from Jesus, including the love we have within ourselves.  This was a beautiful lesson.  Because Jesus loved our family, He had already established a house for us to provide not just for our fleshly needs but for our spiritual needs as well.

Throughout the next several months, we were able to get a home and our jobs became secure and we were able to start back over.   Starting over is never easy.  It is a process.  My husband and I had to face some serious decisions about how we were living and who would we be friends with.  We had definitely made some very poor decisions that got us into the situation we had to face.  We knew we did not want to go back to that place of redemption. 

"I am the vine, you are the branches.  He abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.

John 15:5-8

For me, I needed to work on my pride, my perfectionism, my bitterness, and my eagerness to cast blame on others.  Together, my husband and I needed to establish faithfulness, perseverance, and acceptance of the love Jesus offers to us so freely.

When you are in a situation like this and you feel there is no way out.  There becomes a time when you both say or maybe just one of you will say, “Help us Jesus!”

For us, I believe we both asked Jesus for help on our own.  When things got really bad, because changing an old habit takes time, Jesus kept working on us;  He never gave up on us.  To this day, we are still reflecting on our own old habits, but now we ask Him, what plans do you have for us today?  We hope through the mistakes we have made that we can help others. 

Whatever situation you are in or how bad you have messed up, He will never forsake you or leave you.  He is always right there waiting for you to call His Name, Jesus!

"I will never leave you nor forsake you."  So we can BOLDLY say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?"

Hebrews 13:5-6

In Him always, 

Erin