Homecoming is always bittersweet.
Time with family, cookies, and traditions are sweet; but coupled with that sweetness is the stark reality that my home is no longer within those 4 walls.
I have moved on. Formed a new home, a new identity. Much to the distress of the cheek-pinching ladies at my small country church, the Michael that returned is not the Michael that left nearly 2 years ago.
Nor should I be.
Struggles, trials, and painful ordeals pepper the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation; these are the tools God uses to shape us and mold us into vessels more able to serve His purpose.
God has made us into a little clay cup and filled us with a little bit of blessings and love to sprinkle over our loved ones. God wants to transform us into massive containers with which He can pour endless blessings and love over the entire earth.
God wants to use us, but he won’t if we insist on remaining a little clay cup. Embrace pain, suffering, and challenges as the tools they are.
God can use anyone in any situation for an incredible purpose; and I encourage you to let Him! Ask Him how you can be used, and be open to His leading. He took a sheltered, homeschooled farm boy from the most redneck town in Ohio, and led him to an adventure beyond his dreams.
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him– 1 Cor 2:9
