For some of you the idea of driving 306 miles to see a concert might seem insane.  For some of you, you have been there, done that, and done it again!  Last night I took my 8 year old son to the Rock and Worship Road Show.  It was well worth the 306 mile drive, and the 306 miles we will drive home today.

 

Why?  In part because seeing the 5 bands live was amazing.  But also because 13,000 people packed into the arena who came out to worship our Lord and Savior, who were there because of Him, proved it with thier voices!  When the Lord gave us the most amazing grace and mercy by giving us the ability to come to His feet through the blood of Christ how can we not worship?  The 13,000 people that were there last night showed with their voices that they knew that Christ had broken their chains and they were there to offer up their hearts and voices in worship.

 

The 306 miles?  Worth it to experience 13,000 people worship the Lord and offer up their hearts and lives as a tiny offering in exchange for the great gift He gave to us on the cross.

Today I got a phone call that a friend needed my help to get something done.  She had driven the two hours to accomplish an urgent task, believing she had everything necessary to get it done.  She was missing one thing.  She called me to see if I could meet her half way with that one thing if she arranged for her husband to leave work and get it to me.  She would have to make a 4 hour round trip to accomplish it, making it impossible for her to make it to something that was planned later that day.   I said yes without hesitation because this is what friends do.  She has done things for me without even being asked just because she knew they needed doing.

One year ago there would have been no way I would have been in a  position for her to call me to do this.  Even just 9o days ago I had not yet gotten my drivers license back from having gone seizure free long enough.  These are the days that impact me.  The days that I see how having gone through what I went through to get to where I am today have made a difference.  I am not just talking about the fact that I have my drivers license back because nearly a year ago I had a surgery that finally allowed me to be seizure free.  I am talking about how the three year trial I went through allowed God to mold me to where I am today, and how that changed what kind of decision I made today.

Three years ago I would have hesitated if someone called me to drive a 2 hour round trip to bring them something they had left.  Even if I had a free day I would have told them to try to find someone else to do it first, then call me back.  I might even had invented plans.  After all I would be giving up 2 hours of my day for their mistake.  Yet today, my view is different.  I am glad to be able to have the opportunity to do it.  The fact that I could drive, did have the day free, and knew there was no obstacles to making it happen gave me joy in doing it.  God has taught me many lessons in the last three years, lessons I learned in trial.  Big lessons that impact decisions in my life that I use to think were small, but that are not small to someone else.  Like today, the decision to help a friend.  When we make that kind of decision, the kind of decision that is based on how it is going to impact another person, we end of receiving joy because we have considered someone elses needs above our own.

When was the last time you helped a friend when you didn’t expect to?  What kind of benefit do you believe you got from that?

I know that Philippians 3:12-14 tells me I am to forget what is behind, to look ahead, and strain for the prize that Christ has already taken hold of for me.  But in a different way, I do look back.  I look back at what Christ has done for me since I have known Him and I say WOW!  Over the last week I have been reminded of some of those things.

My sister was in the hospital, which made me think of all the times I lay in the hospital the last three years, and Gods faithfulness to His promises to remain with me, to be my strength, my comfort, and to give me what I needed when I needed it.  The Lord restored a relationship that was important to me by helping me to learn a lesson I needed to learn, while also reminding me of the healing He brought me through years ago.   I read the story of another woman’s struggle with infertility and remember what God did for me when I cried out to him in that same struggle.  Hebrews 12:1-2 is the verse I chose a long time ago as my life verse, my focus verse, whatever you want to call it (The Race Is Worth Enduring).  The song  Stay Stong by the Newsboys captures that kind of focus into music, and I heard it for the first time after seeing the lyrics on a f riends blog today.  That song reminds me why I chose that verse, and what God was doing in my life when I chose the verse.

Being reminded of what God has done for me in the past, looking back at all the incredible things He has been capable of accomplishing for me, makes me want all the more to press on towards the goal to win the prize for which I have been called heavenward in Christ Jesus our Lord.  It is one thing to forget what has been in the past if it mires us down, hinders us, or traps us in sin, as Hebrews 12:1-2 says.  When I look back to see what God has done for me then I am greatly encouraged to continue running the race.  I just need to be careful that I am not looking back for the wrong reasons.

For those of you who know me or follow my blog, you know a few months ago something happened that really hurt me.  Something that it took a lot of prayer and effort for me to forgive someone for.

This past week I had a 3 hour conversation with that person.  I have seen this person since then, but this is the first time I have truly spoken to them since they hurt me.  I knew God was telling me “you are not going to heal until you go to that person and tell them why you hurt, and that you need an apology”.  I chose the words carefully, with love and grace.  I knew that what I really wanted was for the other person to understand that I was hurting because I felt that they had chosen being right over our relationship, and the fact that they refused to trust me about the details of my own life.

In the end the conversation was amazing.  We understood each other in a way I did not expect.  She able to see why I was so hurt, and we were able to understand why we misunderstood each other.  God helped two woman who want so deeply to understand each other see that sometimes it isn’t about what we see, but what we don’t.  That when we make assumptions about why someone says or does something, and analyze their actions or words, we make a mistake.  We end up creating a situation where we expect something we don’t get, or we get something we don’t expect.

After months of prayer and waiting, I made a phone call not sure of what was going to happen, trusting God to take care of the rest.  God did.  He helped to restore a relationship that was important to me.  Not just because of the titles attached to it, but because we both belong to Christ.  That is what was significant.