LOST TO GAIN

I am so thankful for everything that I have. I realize that I can be in a much worse position than I am. I praise God for my family, home, and for life itself.

I've come to learn that there's a great paradox in life. At least this has been true for me. I appreciate more and with a greater intensity things that I have lost. In other words, I've had to lose great things before I really came to appreciate their value.

One of those things is my marriage. We are blessed to have been married for 28 years.  However, we do know of a very low valley at one point. I've shared before about our experience of an 18-month separation some years ago. Today, I simply marvel at the goodness of God because I know that it was only He who completely turned our lives around. It is like the threat of the loss of our marriage not only restored us, but totally revived us. God made new what we thought we lost. He brought back to life that which had died.

We'd known great days for 20 years before we hit that patch of unhappiness. That was a time in our marriage that we never wish to experience again.  The living hell culminated in the separation.  It took God to resuscitate it. We truly thought it was over; but God........but God.....BUT GOD said no!!!!

In retrospect, it is so clear that out of that cemetery, like Lazarus, the Lord called us both forth. He resurrected us and made us better than we were. Had we not walked through that fire, we would not be the couple, and individuals, we are.  We're better together now, and better for each other. It is like we're new people and I tell you, such new life is in our marriage it's almost unbelievable.

It is clear to me that as difficult as the separation was, it was necessary to save our lives. It also demonstrates that no matter what the situation is, when you've done all you can with something and you trust God to bring you through, He will.  I read on a friend's Facebook page something Jerry says quite often. God answers in three (3) ways. He does say YES, but He also says NO, and He says NOT NOW (or WAIT). Don't be so afraid of the NO's. He may have to say no to something in order to protect you.  But, you are ok because He holds you in His hand.  His NOT NOW answers are also for our good. There are some things that we are simply not ready for at the time of our asking.

Our separation was a NO answer. I prayed that Jerry would not leave. God allowed Him to leave. I wanted things to work out. We both wanted that. The answer to that was NOT NOW. We had to be rebuilt and renewed first.  Our reconciliation was a YES answer.  YES to what God had joined together, no one would put asunder. YES to the union that God put together and destined to be.

No matter what it looks like now, know that the bottom line is that God is in control. I've learned that what looks dead to our natural eyes is God's opportunity to show His omnipotence. I've gone through a lot in my life, and still go through some tough times. But I have learned that God is bigger than everything I've ever experienced, or will ever see. Trust Him, even when you think that you can't go any further. He's already made the way.

(*If you want to learn more about my experience with our separation, contact me to purchase my eBook entitled "The Weight of Unforgiveness".)

Blessings!
Carla