The LORD is My Strength

Last week was one of the most difficult times in my life.  I sat and watched Kristi, one of my dearest friends and sister in Christ, lose her beloved.  Kristi's husband went to be with the Lord on Wednesday morning, April 14th.  Even though I know that God has our plans already written out for us, it is still amazing to me when I reflect upon the events that led me to where I am today.  God knew the plans that He had for the Hopwood family, and He chose me to be a friend for Kristi as she endured the pain and suffering of losing her husband.  Kristi and I have known each other for less than a year, but the LORD has used hardships in both of our lives to draw us close together.  For example, our family has  battled with Parker's health since last April and his immune deficiency disorder mimics almost identically to what Kristi's son Cole has endured.  God opened up a door for me when the Codirector position in the Children's Department at our church needed to be filled.  I felt led to take the position in which I would be working side by side with Kristi.  God knew that I would need someone to lean on and talk to about Parker's health issues and He graciously gave me that friend in Kristi.  God knew that He was going to take her husband away to be with Him, and that she would need someone to be there for her.  I could not have made it through last week without the LORD.  Friday morning I actually had trouble even getting out of bed and facing the day for the first time in my life. I had signed up as a chaperone for Lily's field trip to the Aquarium, and my heart just wasn't there.  I had asked a friend to ride with me and it fell through, but as I was driving alone, I became so grateful for that alone time that God had blessed me with.  I had over an hour to pray and worship and I kept crying out, "I can't do this Lord. I am not strong enough. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say." And I could feel the peace coming over me as if God was saying, "No, YOU can't do this, but I can and I WILL." Verses that I have held onto over the last several months are 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." There fore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  I am a very independent person and the LORD uses tough times to draw me closer to Him.  I always have loved the song by Mercy Me, "Bring the Rain." 

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

The Lord knows exactly what I need and most of the time it is not what I want. But I have learned to try and delight in the hard times because He has chosen me.   I am so thankful for the strength that the LORD continues to provide and the neverending grace that he gives.  I know that He will be glorified through all of this.  Please continue to pray for my dear friend, Kristi, and her five year old son, Cole, and that they will be comforted and given a peace that surpasses all understanding.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." John 16:33