The Chief Cornerstone

     There is no place to begin than by jumping into it head first.
     I was 9 years old when I First heard about Jesus, and His love, life, death and resurrection were for me. I believed them, the teachers. They asked, if anyone believed the story of his punishment and payment of our sins, and death and resurrection, and I raised my hands to confess my belief. The VBS teacher, Theresa H, was wearing a white cotton dress with little red hearts all over it in neat patterned rows. She had brown hair, permed, and it was bouffainted and sprayed neatly in place, and she had glasses, and  i thought she was one of the prettiest ladies I had ever seen. She got tears in her eyes when I raised my hand, and she smiled and lead me in prayer immediately.
     I have believed in Jesus ever since. I have not always been faithful. I have sometimes harshly doubted. But He will not let me go.
     All of us have despairing times in our lives. Times when our soul wears thin, as the Hobbit who has worn the ring too long says. Times when there seems to be no friend or even family that can possibly understand the depth of your despair and the purge of hope that is slowly overtaking your soul to the point of raw core despair. During those times, you can be surrounded by friends or family and yet if they speak like Jobs wife or friends, your spirit only adds bitterness and irony to the perplexing situation you are already facing. 
     Times such as those call for a rock to stand on. As torrential rain falls and breaks over you. As wind and storm beat down upon you life. As the darkness threatens to overtake and consume your soul. There must be an anchor that you can grasp and hold onto with all your strength as if your very life depended on it. Because your very sanity is determined by it. Because without it, the hurricane that blasts you could very well decimate you to oblivion. This anchor--this unbreakable rock, is Jesus Christ.
     Life is not fair. There are no rules to govern fairness. Not a lot makes sense, and people have sought to understand the reason "why" things happen to them for hundreds of centuries. Solomon says There is nothing new under the sun, and quite frankly thats a relief sometimes. It's nice to know we are not alone. We don't have control over some circumstances, but we do have control over how they will affect us. How we deal with them. How we react. With Christ's help, like a rock, He preserves us, and through our experiences, we can trust Him and be able to stand in the face of trials.
     My invitation to you is to be encouraged by some of my faith-building stories. To take heart and hopefully raise your spirits. I would also like to be a small compass, that points to God, and hopefully help you to see things from a different perspective. My life is not a litmus test to define how one should or could react, but simply a glass to hopefully reflect what God has done, and shine back the glory He deserves. And how far He has brought me. And be encouraged yourself to begin collecting your own stones of faith along the way, so we can exuberantly say together "Thus far He has brought me..."

     I will be honest and admit, that through most of my circumstances I have a hard time discerning the will of God; however, looking back over them, I can see His will a lot clearer as He reveals how He has grown me, and it has always been guiding me for what is best for our lives. It is always looking back that I see His will; rarely when I am right in the middle of it, or looking around for what lies down the road. Yet, this strange experience, of living purposefully and intentionally while not quite always having a clear direction, is a faith building journey. If one can look at the evidence of His divine love, and interception, it makes the path that much sweeter, and especially bearable, when our eyes are trained to seek out His love displayed in our daily lives. And believe me; the evidence is all around us.