What are you doing with it?

What are you doing with it?

This is the question I keep coming back to.

What are you doing with it?

The last couple of months have been sprinkled with good, meaningful conversations, discussions and events that deal with hard, hurt and trial.

That deal with life.

Because that what life is. Life is hard, life hurts, and life deals out trial like a Vegas pro.

And it is natural to want to discuss it, to hash out the details and try to find meaning and reasons.

And I think that it's good to talk about it.  I think it is healthy to find meaning... it helps us deal.

But there is something I think we neglect at times... something we do not hear soon enough... something that seems harsh in times of hurt. And that is to challenge the person who is in the trail, in the hurt, dealing with the hard to examine what's going on in their life and ask God... what are you trying to teach me?

Because that is the heart of the matter... it's not the what, or even the how...it's the why.

and most whys have a very similar answer

Because Christ wants to draw you near to Himself

and

to bring God glory.

So what is God trying to teach us with the hard?

Reliance on Him, prayer, humility, patience, contentment... and a million and two other answers depending on the road God has laid out for you.

But the challenge does not end there. Oh, no, friends... it gets even more...uhh... challenging.

After the lesson is dealt, after the cards are in our hands, the question still remains...

How will you play your hand?

What are you doing with what God gave you?

Umm, Cari, I thought we were talking about hurt and hard and trial... what do you mean what am I going to do with it?

Yup!

What are you going to do with it? God has specifically given you something... now how will you use it? For Him?

I lost my baby girl... and I am still finding ways to use Caden and her life, and her death to glorify God. I miss a lot of them... but God is faithful and keeps bringing me opportunities to share His love, mercy and His plan...

I find because of Caden's death I am more compassionate, more comforting, more encouraging. I have learned so much about God and His character from dealing with Caden's loss. I have felt closer to God because of my pain... He has brought me close and comforted me, and in turn, I have learned how to comfort others better then I could have before.

God uses the hard to bring about the beautiful.

Everyone has hurt.

Everyone experiences hard.

What are you doing with it?

"Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later and then you still have to decide what to do."

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains."

~ C.S. Lewis ~