Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God outside despite the cold temperature and I flipped the pages of my Instruction Manual with gloves on determined to spend my time outside instead of inside this morning. What began as a quiet time surrounded by the beauty of this old farm transitioned into a celebration. What started out with reflection on the events of this year that is soon to be behind me, turned into a Reflection on my Life and how far I’ve come. In the quiet of this cold morning, God painted a picture that was so profound that it brought me to my knees and it put a “song of Praise on my lips”. Nothing on the planet could possibly compare to what it’s like when God takes us down Memory Lane to remind us of His Greatness and His Hand through it all. Isn’t that the way it is for you sometimes too?

The world may look at my Life with an opinion of its own about my journey; but every step of my Journey has been ordained by the Living God so that I could be used for His Purpose for such a time as this. Maybe I was hard-headed and He knew that I wouldn’t “get it” without a whole lot of pain to soften me, or maybe He drove me to the depths to Strengthen me for His Work. I’ve been taken to the top of the Mountain and I’ve been thrown into the desert and I’ve been to the Spiritual Woodshed more often than I care to admit. I’ve been overwhelmed with Joy and I’ve been overwrought with sadness. I’ve had a life filled to the brim with my loved ones and friends, and I’ve lived on an island “alone”. I’ve known poverty and I’ve experienced prosperity and each of those taught me to give. I’ve made some bad decisions in my Life as I set out on my own, and I’ve been filled with supernatural Wisdom that surprises even me. I spent a long time in the desert during one Season and I squandered years that I can never relive and I’ve learned now to savor the seconds. I know what it is to hate and to be hated, and I know what it is to have a heart that can love Unconditionally. All of the Ingredients of my Life have produced a Masterpiece for Him and I have no regrets. I don’t waste a minute wishing that my Life would have turned out differently because He has made use of it all. The good, the bad and the ugly have shaped me into His willing Vessel and I am a Witness to the World of His Greatness.. When you look at it that way, how can we have any regrets?

He is the Potter and I am His clay and I know that He’ll use whatever means that He wants to use to shape me for Himself. It’s ONLY when we understand THAT PART of the Journey that we can find our Joy through it all. “Bad” things DO happen to good people and a lot of turmoil can come our way BECAUSE He loves us. There are consequences to our sin just the same as there are consequences for a wayward child, but one of biggest lies floating around in the Christian world is that if you’re living right…you won’t face trials. My Instruction Manual overflows with example after example of people being Refined with “fire” so that they could be shaped by the Potter…and we’re no different in His eyes. So, I wear my War Wounds proudly as I continue to be Shaped by the Potter and whatever He sends my way, I’ll use to Glorify Him. The good, the bad and the ugly.

How about you?