Looking for beauty

Isaiah 41:10 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Driving early one morning to a doctor’s appointment, I was feeling a little sorry for myself and wasn’t really in the mood to appreciate the sunrise. I was focused on the pain in my knee, and the impending tests that would be necessary to locate the cause of the pain. I thought about the pain I had been dealing with in both knees since March, and was all too happy to gripe to the Lord and myself about the state I was in.

As I drove, I did finally look up enough to notice the sun rising. I noticed the incredible colors and the way they spread through the clouds and lit them up for the world. A few seconds later, I glanced again, and the sky was a light blue with a grey tinge on the clouds! SO quickly had the moment of splendor and glory passed; it held on just long enough as the right angle was found by the rays of the sun.

That made me think about how quickly the sunrise was over. One moment the sun wasn’t up, and then it was. One minute in darkness, the next in light. One minute the dust and debris in the atmosphere caught the rays to filter them in such a way that I got to appreciate the color, and then it passed. Somewhere over the horizon behind me, another person was getting a chance to see that sunrise. For me it had passed, but for others further back on this globe it was yet to come.

The beauty was only there because of the dust and debris. If the atmosphere had been free of those pollutants, the rays of the sun would have had nothing through which to filter. Even the clouds in the sky catch the rays differently and only do so because of their position to block those rays. It is hard to imagine that the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset is just not possible without the debris and dust. Without the ‘yucky’ stuff as my kids would have said.

But isn’t that like our lives, I wondered? I can only feel sad about the pain in my knees because I know what it feels like to walk without pain. I can only enjoy the sunshine because I know what it’s like when it is raining. We can only enjoy a connection with others because of the trials those others walk through with us. The joy we feel is because of the pain we have felt.

Pain and suffering are not ours to keep. The Lord promises He will never leave us or forsake us. He will be the lifter of our heads. He will give us the grace and mercy we need for each day. He also gives us connections with other sisters in Christ. Through the body of Christ, He offers ways to bring us together and seek each other out.

Don’t miss the beauty in trials, seek out connection, and find sisters in Christ who will journey with you. You may be seeking a mentor, or perhaps you’re a single mom. Maybe you don’t have a spouse who attends church or don’t have a spouse that shares your faith. Why not look for the beauty? Look for the connection. Come to Gather and Gab on August 15. Bring your dinner as we throw open the doors of the Connection Room (272) and say, “Come join us!”

There is beauty in this life. The Lord will strengthen you through connections to other women at BHBC.

CJ Crenshaw 

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God’s Gift of Hope

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

In the midst of the ups and downs of life, it can sometimes be hard to remember that God does have plans for our lives. It can be easy to focus more on our own hopes, forgetting to trust God’s provision for us. We have ideas of what we want our days to look like. When things go well, we may have a tendency to think that it's because we've done the right things. And, while it is true that good decisions can lead to good results, I firmly believe that anything good in my life is wholly due to God's grace and unmerited favor! He gives us good things because He loves us, not because we deserve any of them.

And then there are the "downs" of life. Some of the things that happen may seem so shocking and so sad that it's hard to imagine them being a part of God's plan for our lives. 2020 surprised and disappointed us like no other year. For many, that holiday season looked a lot different from what we had hoped for. We were not able to enjoy some of our favorite holiday traditions. We missed out on time with our loved ones. It may not have “felt” like Christmas, so we trusted God to provide. Now a year later as we approach Christmas 2021, we still need to trust God’s plans for us, and to remember that great Plan and Hope our Father sent for us on that first Christmas so long ago.

So many times in my life, I've come through heartbreaking experiences and seen how God blesses through them, because of them, and in spite of them. It doesn't surprise me when He does that. In fact, I've learned to live in expectation of it. That hope often gets me through such bad times. I know God will work all things for good. He will give beauty for ashes.

Having been raised in the church, I've known of God's love since I was a little girl. However, I began to understand it on a new level when I became a mother. I remember looking at my newborn child and realizing that there would never be anything she could do that would cause me to stop loving her. It was then that I began to see how God could love me like that. As His child, He loves me so much and will never stop, no matter how many times I fail.

Remember when I said that God brings good things from bad and gives beauty for ashes? Becoming a mother was an example of this for me. For many years, I didn't plan to have children. I knew that there was no such thing as a perfect parent, and if I couldn't do it perfectly, then why do it at all? This warped thinking stemmed from the perfectionism I've wrestled with for most of my life. In 1995, however, I had an ectopic pregnancy. I wasn't familiar with the condition, and the more I learned about it after I was treated for it, the more I realized that I could have died as a result of it. And probably should have, medically speaking. But God had other plans.

One year later, I gave birth to a precious girl who, to this day, is a blessing to so many people. If I had not gone through the difficulty and heartbreak of the ectopic pregnancy, I might have let Satan keep that hold of perfectionism over me, and the world would have been robbed of the blessings of both of my children. Have I been a perfect parent? Not even close. But I have tried to follow God's example and love unconditionally. I am immensely proud of my daughters, but I can't really brag, because I know that the good in them is 100% due to God's grace and provision. To Him be the glory!

In the good times and bad, it is crucial to hold on to God's perfect peace that passes all understanding. The key to this is to praise Him. Always. Forever. In ALL things. When I was in college, I was in a singing group. Recently, one of the songs we performed that I haven't heard or even thought of in many years came back to me in a dream. I was surprised at how many of the words I remembered. The song is called "Praise the Lord" and was recorded by the Imperials back in 1979. I hope these words are an encouragement to you, as they are to me!

When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams
And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan's manifested schemes
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears
Don't let the faith you're standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers when he knows himself we're children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ has risen so the work's already done

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

Susan Foster

Interested in blogging for the Women's Ministry? Email    for details.

Connect with the Women's Ministry via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bhbcsistersoftheheart