this day in history

On this day in history…
In 1920 women were given the right to vote.
In 1939 the first major league baseball game was televised
In 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson was selected as the democratic nominee for president
In 1978 aviator Charles Lindberg died.

And on this day in 2008…
My husband was fired from his job beginning a chain of events that would lead to a completely different life for both of us.

So on this day we celebrate God’s provision… in providing both Michael and I new jobs – in different locations. We celebrate God’s wisdom in extricating me from a marriage where I would never have been loved, valued, appreciated, respected… We celebrate God’s guidance as I had to make many decisions in a very short time with a long term impact on the lives of myself and my children… and the many details that God had worked out in advance… We celebrate a God whose eye is on the sparrow, who also watches me.

Last night after a very long day… I sat in a rocking chair on the front porch of a restaurant in Cleveland, Georgia, listening to (and videotaping) my sweet nieces dance and sing to “This is the day that the Lord has made” with the kind of joy that only a child can possess – innocence – complete faith and trust – without a care in the world. And God has done that for me too… He has loved me like His little child. He has removed every care, every fear, every worry… He took a time of great disappointment and heartache and has turned my weeping into joy.

It has been a journey that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy but it has reaped blessings that are beyond my greatest hopes and dreams. The things I thought would matter just one brief year ago have disappeared. Honestly, I had no idea. When things were really bad with Michael, I would imagine myself living somewhere else – anywhere else – but I couldn’t visualize how I would possibly find the resources to pick up and move, to change my life completely. Yet God knew.

I’ve spent a year surviving. I’m ready to go from surviving to thriving. It’s not enough to just get by. God heard my cries for help. God saw His child in pain. He had mercy on me. His grace was sufficient for everything. I’ve become aware of people who are living through their “worst thing”… and although it may vary from person to person… one thing always holds true, surviving your worst thing either makes you bitter or it makes you better. I think that once you get past your worst fears… once you go through a nightmare and wake up… once you learn that a little struggle only makes you stronger… you have a great gift – perspective. Perspective allows us to not sweat the small stuff. It allows us to respect our inner strength. It gives us confidence. It builds our testimony.

It gives us the opportunity to share with others from the wisdom of our experience. I don’t know what God has planned for the next year. I just know that He keeps putting me in a place of joy. He keeps bringing me through what I thought I’d never survive. He keeps putting a song in my heart and others in my path who need to learn the same tune.

On this day in history, God started turning me into the woman He wants me to be. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad.