When Your Hut's On Fire

I received this story via forwarded email today, and it was just too good not to post! :) I hope that it means as much to you as it did to me!

When Your Hut's On Fire

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.  Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky.  He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost!  He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?"

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?"  asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal!" they replied.

The Moral of This Story:  It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad,  but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

My Thoughts on God’s Wonderful and Perfect Will

“What is God’s will for my life?”

Probably the most asked question of Christians, young and old alike, in churches today.  The way to answer to this question has been preached, taught and drilled into our little brains by many a Sunday School teacher, missionary, and Youth Conference preacher, sometimes to the point of feeling like we are less of a Christian if we do not know the exact answer to this question.  I mean…God told that missionary or that preacher what His will was, so surely He will tell me as well, right?  And if you were raised anything like me, you heard a lot of wonderful stories about how God revealed His will to different people.  As a result, when I was a little girl, I would dream about what God’s will most surely would be for my life.  Perhaps He would call me to the darkest jungles of Africa, like Mary Slessor, and I would save orphans from being murdered and would be the greatest single woman missionary of our time.  Or, maybe, I would marry a wonderful Christian man, and together we would go to the Communist country of China and have books and movies written about us.  (I always dreamed big! What can I say?)  And as I dreamed, I had complete faith that God would make this all happen.

I’ll never forget the day that I realized my dreams were not God’s dream for my life.  I was 21 years old, and my world had pretty much crumbled around me.  Some very sad and terrible things were happening to me and my family, and I was as confused as I have ever been about life.  I would cry out to God, and ask him, “Why?  Why is this happening to me and my family?  What have we done to deserve this?”  And I never have felt so confused and hurt before.  This was NOT how life was supposed to go.  I truly thought that God had something else for my life…but now, I was hurting beyond belief at the hands of people that I thought loved me, and I couldn’t see God through the tears.

A lot of things happened and a lot of things changed in my life and in my family’s life, and I didn’t even know from one day to the next what was going to happen or where my life was going to go.  But somehow, I made it thru the days, and I now know that it was the daily grace of God.  There’s absolutely no way I could’ve done any of it without Him, even though I didn’t even realize it at the time.  I said all that to say this…now that I am on this side of that valley in my life, I can honestly say that I know 100% for sure that it was all in God’s will.  He has guided me along, day by day, and now, when I look back I can see the path that He has led me along and the changes He has made in me.  I’ve had many of those “look back and see one set of footprints in the sand” moments.  My life, so far, has most definitely been completely different than I ever imagined or dreamed that it would be, but I can honestly say that I’m glad it happened God’s way, and not mine. 

God’s will in my life hasn’t been a big revelation that was written in the sky, or a miraculous sign that he placed on my path.  God’s will has been a daily journey that I have been on since the day I got saved.  I don’t know what’s ahead, but I’m not too worried about it either.  God has done such wonderful things in my life and has led me in such amazing ways, that I can do nothing but trust Him for my future.  I know that it is different in everybody’s life, and God will work with us all in different and unique ways, but I just wanted to share my experiences.  So, to sum it all up, God’s will for my life is an uncertain future of trusting Him daily for every single thing.

Dancing on the...couch?

Have you ever just felt the need to break loose and do something crazy? And by crazy, I don't mean not putting the cap on your tube of toothpaste or drinking milk right out of the carton.  I mean, crazy, as in something you've never done before or something that requires you to step outside of your comfort zone and experience new things.  So I ask, have you done something crazy this week?

I had my crazy moment last night.  My girlfriends and I let out hair down, grabbed our microphones (which just happened to be remote controls for the TV), cranked up the music, and danced on the couch.  I probably will remember this moment for a long time.  Not just because of how goofy we looked or because of how AMAZING we sounded (emphasis and slight exaggeration added for dramatic effect), but because of how it felt to be with friends who know me and love me anyways.  We have had our ups; we've definitely had our downs, but it's these things that have made our friendships what they are today.  And I do not want to take a single moment I spend with them for granted.

Life is short and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we need to be thankful today for what we have.  If we have people in our lives who love and accept us for who we are, we had best hold on tight and thank God everyday for His precious gift of friendship.

Life is an ever-changing process and God beings people into our lives to teach us things and to help us along life's path.  Just as a wind across the ocean can alter the path of a ship, so can one relationship, no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be, change our lives forever!

So...go ahead, do something crazy, dance on the couch, and thank God for the crazy people jumping around with you!