What do you do?

What do you do when it keeps on hurting? What do you do when someone you love keeps making the same mistake, over and over? How can you 'forgive and forget' and move on when the offence is still ongoing? Several years ago, Lisa and I had a beautiful prayer time with some old friends. Bobby and Debbie Lepinay, along with Jacob and Jennifer Head. They are from Harvest Outreach in Pensacola, FL. I've mentioned Bobby's blog in the past. The church website is http://www.harvestpensacola.com/ & if you're ever in Pensacola, be sure and visit, it's a great ministry. Anyway, Bobby prayed over Lisa and asked the Holy Spirit to remove the sword of offence. To heal her wound with the salve of His comforting presence. It was an amazing thing to hear prayed! Unfortunately, this is just how I feel today. That sword just keeps swinging back and there's no where to run and hide.

And what about suvivors? Those who live daily with scars, internal and external. I know one who went to her pastor and asked him why she was struggling again, she thought she had overcome the old pain. He explained that she had dealt with it, but that she was working through another level of it. In dispair she asked him just how many levels there were. Wisely, he cried with her that he didn't know.

I don't know either. I honestly don't know the answers to any of these questions I posted. Because I'm there, too. I was walking along, just whining to my co-workers about how much I hate daylight savings time, when BAM!!!! I run into another level. Or I found out something new about an old pain. Or I see the cause of that pain. Or the enemy pushes it back into my face.

What do you do? The ringer on my new phone is the Mercy Me song 'Hold Fast'. Sometimes that's all I can do.

The one thing greater than my strife
is Your grasp.

Hold fast!

Hold fast, dear friends.

Lara

Sometimes I act like a two-year-old... Do you? I want MY way. I want My stuff. I want MY baggage. I just through with a week that I felt that way. I want to sleep, not get up early to read my Bible! I want to listen to my radio, not my worship CD! I want to play games, watch TV, or read instead of doing something productive! Now you may think that after weeks of VBS prep and VBS itself, that I deserve some down time--well, I thought so, too! So--I did just that! Days of 'I want, I want, I want!' Let me just let you in on a not so hidden secret. After down time that spreads itself a little (or a lot) too long, the heart and mind start to wallow. You know, like a pig. Mud can be rather heavy, let me tell you. Driving home, the other day, it was almost as if I woke up from my tantrum. I felt the weight of my 'self' and didn't like it. Tossing it off, I faced my Lord. There He was, just waiting out my selfishness. Did you know that forgiveness weighs nothing? It actually diminishes the weight on your shoulders? You can actually breathe better when you don't act like a two-year-old...