Life in all its Fullness
Charles created this little prayer garden for me. I’m enjoying it now more than ever.
I have a framed verse from Scripture on my desk. “My purpose is to give you life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10) I look at it every day and am reminded of its beautiful message–that God has a purpose for my life and it is much fuller than simply getting up each morning and doing the usual . . . dressing, eating, brushing my teeth, and so on.
Now that I am living alone I am challenged to engage with life in a new way, to find opportunities to be useful to others, to spend time alone with God, to do meaningful work, and to stop and smell the roses. It would be easy to withdraw, to feel sorry for myself, to dwell on what was instead of what’s to be. But I’m not that sort.
I’m entering a new season. I’m excited to see what unfolds. I’m trusting God to show me the way.
How has God shown you the way when you reached an unexpected crossroad in your life? Please share your experience so all of us can benefit.
What wonderful blessings Jesus has blessed me with … He knew me before I know him … from the other side of the earth, China … my mother couldn’t push me out of her with a heavy wooden washboard … I was born an unwanted girl … abandoned and left to be raised by my illiterate grandmother who had a pair of three-inch bound feet and once thrown her own newborn infant daughter into the urine pot to drown because she wanted a boy … I survived the world’s worst manmade famine … emotional and physical neglect and abuse in the hands of my own family … didn’t know what a full stomach felt like till in my 20’s … and, when my daughter was born, my domineering father-in-law pressured me to have my baby daughter injected and killed … But God, His amazing grace saw me through every step of the way … Aided me escape to the sunny side of the earth, beautiful America, … amazingly with my brain intact! Praise the Heavenly Father, His son, my savior Jesus … For ever and ever … . Thanks Karen for being my role model and mentor … May God bless you more with his immense power …
Thank you, Jing, for sharing your heart and your tragic experience, which God has redeemed. Praise the Lord for the woman you’ve become.
Thanks for sharing this perspective of your new season Karen. Your prayer garden looks inviting and you know you never have to go there alone. God will walk down that stone path with you and the sweet memories of your husband will keep you company.
God has been showing me that “unexpected crossroads” don’t interrupt my life. They are my life. I can deny them, fight them, try to turn around and avoid them but it is much less stressful to accept them, take them one step at a time and see where they lead.
May your crossroad lead you down pleasant paths.
Smiles, BRC
Thank you, Beth, for these words of wisdom. I like your statement about unexpected crossroads being your life. Mine too. I saw this today in a meditation I subscribe to. “Letting go frees up a great amount of soul-energy that liberates a level of life you didn’t know existed.” ~ Richard Rohr
I say ‘amen’ to that. 🙂
Amen to freeing up soul energy Karen! I need all the energy I can get.
Smiles, BRC
I so agree.