When It Rains It Pours

Have you ever heard that expression before? That would explain my life right now and it is the reason it has been a month since I have posted. Between my own health problems, the demands of school, and my sister being sick and in the hospital, I have been preoccupied. Although it has been an extremely stressful time in my life, there are a few songs that touched my heart and helped me to continue holding on, knowing that God is in control even when life seems to be spinning out of control.

It is hard to even begin to explain what has been going on, but like I have told my friends and family the only thing I know to do is pray. It has been so wonderful to have a church family who is so supportive, people call to check on my sister and tell us they were praying for us. There was nothing more they could do, but prayer is enough. Steven Curtis Chapman has a song "Let Us Pray" which adequately describes what I feel. The chorus is
Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way
Every moment of the day, it is the right time
For the Father above, He is listening with love
And He wants to answer us, so let us pray
and so we did. Now she is home and recovering; and I am doing alright.

Avalon's "The Glory" is a beautiful song that tells the story of what Christ did for us; as I listen to it I am reminded that He is in control and of His great love for us. I may not understand what is going on but I can know that it is going to turn out in my best interest.

The dream of something beautiful like a child on her wedding day, laughing so hard you cry, and true love, suddenly all of these things are obtainable. The Newsboys sing "Something Beautiful" which brings alive the idea that you can find beauty in this world with all its flaws, and I love this idea. Newsboys is such a great group and I love their music; they have a rock base but with a softer, appealing factor. Watch their great music video and you will see what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJVrkRxIJQ&feature=related

It is embarrassing to think and admit that we make mistakes but it is true. That is why the song "Clumsy" by Chris Rice is so important: he explains that even after 30 years of living he still falls for temptation and tries to do the right thing but fails. The song hits home because it talks about you make a mistake and feel useless, but he is right when he says that it's okay because God is making us holy and He is using our mistakes to help us grow. I think this is a lesson everyone can learn even though it is a difficult and painful one.

TobyMac is a fabulous artist and one of my favorite songs right now is "Made to Love You." I wish I could describe the beat of the song and the way he performs it because it is unique and makes me like it even more as it fits the message. It is a reminder that we were made to love Christ and He created us in order to love us. Again this song talks about life being overwhelming and feeling like God put us in the middle of something we cannot handle, but it is important for us to remember that we were created for love and therefore there is no reason to worry about what life throws at us. Our Father will never abandon us, nor allow anything to come that we can not handle with Him by our side.

Can you tell that I have grown from this experience? I can say very honestly that it has been a challenge and I have struggled because not only have I been in pain physically, it has been emotionally painful watching my sister suffer and knowing there is nothing I can do. Stress is a very powerful weapon, but God turned it around and helped me to see that it He is in control. His continual lesson to me seems to be patience because everything in my life takes time to resolve. I have found peace, I always had peace in my heart knowing that He was in control, but I worried and was upset; somehow God has a way of turning these bad situations around and this is one example.