If I had one wish...

Now normally I would like to keep most of my posts on the lighter, more uplifting side but I have a friend who is hurting today. When someone you care about hurts, you hurt too. I was thinking... If I could ask God for one gift, I would ask for the ability to take peoples' pain away. Wouldn't you just love to go up to someone who is in the depth of heartache and just take all of their pain away and replace it with joy? That would just make my day!!! :) It's a nice dream but I think God is the only one qualified to do that job. The only problem is that He takes His good sweet time in getting it done. He does it right, He does it best, but He does it S-L-O-W.

And then I remembered something. I remembered the day a great revelation came to me. The realization of the spiritual giant's big secret. I took a good look at all the people I most admired, the people who demonstrated God's love and patience and wisdom more than any others. And then I noticed how they got to that place. It was through PAIN. I believe it is a very rare thing for anyone to have that close of a walk with God that didn't find their way there by struggling through their own personal trauma. In their pain, they found that God still loved them and that He cared. They learned to lean on God and to trust Him. They discovered that God is faithful. And now they can love and encourage others because they themselves have been loved and encouraged. Would I really want to take away someone's road to REALLY discovering how good and wonderful God is????

Maybe I will ask God for the gift of encouragement instead. I won't be able to take people's pain away but it would be nice to help them along the road until they find their answer in Him.

And God will exalt you in due time (that explains the S-L-O-W part), if you humble yourselves under His mighty hand by casting all your cares on Him because He cares for YOU. 1 Peter 5:6-7 Amen