Blessings During the Storm

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I kept asking God why? Why now? How in the world could we have gone through that much work and in 20 minutes our 11 hours of labor was literally washed away, completely destroyed. I was feeling sick to my stomach and trying to fight away the headache that had been nagging at me all day while I was in the heat.

I was walking upstairs completely drenched in muddy water, exhausted, burnt, and on the verge of tears when I somehow remembered James 1:2-4 which says:

          “Consider it all joy brethren when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing
           of your faith produces endurance.” (NASAB)

How can I find joy in this situation? Putting a 24’ round pool in the ground is not an easy task. We had it 90% completed when a downpour came with about 6” of water and hail and crazy winds that destroyed literally everything. Yes, it is a trial, but finding joy? I’m havin a hard time with that.

I was leaning on my sister’s bunk bed with these thoughts were bouncing around in my head. I picked up my phone and cleared all the apps off. I glanced at my screensaver and it caught my eyes.

~ Train yourself to find the blessing in everything ~

Bang. That hit me upside the head. I still wanted to ask God WHY, WHY, WHY in the world did this happen to our pool, but I was then able to realize that instead of having a crappy attitude and cursing or being angry at God for this I need to thank Him for what I do have.

Do I NEED a pool? No. It would be nice to have but it’s not a necessity. Will we have one eventually, yes so I’m thanking the Lord that we will be able to reconstruct it. It was a fairly dangerous project. It is a BLESSING that none of us were injured in the process. I am blessed that we are not in a drought. We have rain. I am sure there are several places and people around the world who would give their right arm to have the rain we just had. Furthermore, I am blessed to have wonderful, healthy siblings and parents who are able to put a pool in by ourselves. These are just an example of a few things that came to my mind. The list can go on and on.

I do not know all the plans of the Lord (I hope our pool fits in there somewhere). But I do know that He give us trials so we will rely on Him for our strength.

Psalms 55:22 says, "Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you;" (NASAB)

If life was easy 24/7 we would be proud people who didn’t know they had a need for a savior. Instead, Christ gives us struggles to make us more like Himself.

I hope you realize that whatever trials you are experiencing now Christ wants you to call out to Him in faith. He is your rock. Rely on your rock, not some dirt and sand like that which we used for our pool. It can be washed away in seconds. However, Christ will never leave you once you put your life in His hands.

And wherever you are in life ALWAYS remember to be thankful. God created you, a beautiful person and He has given you so much. It may not be everything you wanted but you are blessed.