After a day like today I can't help but feel encouraged. This afternoon I did something I despise, I visited my grandmother at her nursing home. Please don't misunderstand, I love my grandmother, I despise nursing homes. They remind me too much of hospitals I guess. They also remind me of the frailty and short time span we have here on earth. As usual though being in my grandmother's presence drove the location from my mind. We drank root beer and looked at pictures of my sister's wedding, and then the stories began. I come from a long line of story tellers, great story tellers. My grandmother told me about how she had moved all over the country with my grandfather because of his position in the army. She reminded me that our family are survivors, that we've seen hard times before but our faith in God and our persevering belief in serving him humbly has always held our family together. Both of my grandmother's are dear to me, both have taught me the importance of faith in God and to never, ever, under any circumstance give up. I get to see my Mom's mom on Monday, 92 years old, about 4 foot 6, 85 pounds and she can still diagnose you, cheer you up and give you the reminder to be hearty that you need. I don't believe in coincidence, everything happens for a reason and God will use all things, good or bad, He will use them. A year ago a movie came out that I wanted to see, a remake, but I never got around to seeing it in theaters. I started the original time and time again but would be distracted by something needing to be done. Tonight I finally saw it, True Grit. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend that you do, but it sprang to mind Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. " The plight of the young protagonist in the story, she had faith (or grit) to sure that she would succeed. The message you ask? I have been praying for courage, strength and conviction, and in one day God has reminded me that these things require faith. They require true faith, true faith like my grandmother's, mom, dad, sisters and brother have taught me, not to mention the Bible. Overcoming adversity and trials isn't about showing off what you've done, it's about shining the spotlight back on God and saying, "Look at what He's done". It's about having the true faith to stand in the middle of adversity and say that you will hold on to your faith. I pray that God make my squad's an mine faith true. Thanks for reading and I hope that this has encouraged you as much as it's encouraged me to write it.
