The Captivating Woman

Designed with purpose.

God Still Reigns…No Matter What

Today is the day. The day Americans drive/bike/walk up to their election poll ready/not ready to vote for the next President of the United States.

To be completely honest, I’ve been looking forward to this day. I’ve wanted the ads, debates, and Facebook/Twitter hate to would go away. Every time I jump online, I only last for a few minutes before I get annoyed or angry and exit out of my app(s). I’m sure you have felt the same way.

Even discussions with my family members would send me over the edge. I was beginning to dread family dinners due to political conversation. Not only were there deep debates over candidates, but actual worry coming from a few. Each time I heard them speak, I thought:

God still reigns… no matter what.

My friend posted a photo of a small section of “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis on Facebook. It said:

“My dear wormwood,

Be sure that patient remains completely fixated on politics. Arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people they have never met serves as an excellent distraction from advancing in personal virtue, character, and the things that patient can control. Make sure to keep the patient in a constant state of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards the rest of the human race in order to avoid any kind of charity or inner peace from further developing. Ensure the patient continues to believer that the problem is “out there” in the “broken system” rather than recognizing there is a problem with himself.
Keep up the good work,

-Uncle Screwtape.”

That was written in 1942. Crazy that it’s 2016 and we can feel and see this with our own eyes.

I think Americans believe that we are entering into some dark days, but I’ll give you a little history lesson to maybe ease the worry a bit.

There was a time in history when some of the worst individuals lived and ran countries at the same time. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. Those were some very dark days in that era, definitely a thousand shades darker than what we as Americans are seeing. But even in the middle of it all, God still reigned.

We can fixate on minds on candidates, but distance our thoughts on who the real King is.

I’ve gotten caught up with what the news is saying and what I’m reading in the newspaper that I haven’t even declared with my mouth that Jesus is still King. Maybe you have done the same. Let’s not be people who forget who the King is.

I love what Jennie Allen shared online.

“Here will be my singular post on the election. I am not afraid. I’ve been studying Church history and corrupt leaders come and go, there are times of prosperity and suffering, kingdoms grow and ALL fall and the Church grows more because of all of it. Of course I’m not saying I want chaos but even if the very worst happens, this is not our “city”. Augustine wrote a book called “The City of God” after the Roman Empire fell (equivalent to America falling today). He writes…… “the earthly city glories in itself, the Heavenly City glories in the Lord.” Our future city is growing and vibrant… “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10.“

Today, many people will feel a weight of heaviness once the new President of the United States has been announced, but remember that…

God reigns, no matter what.

Promises

Promise is a beautiful word that holds huge expectations.

I often think that people do not understand the importance of saying the words “I promise”. How many of you have had someone say “I promise” to you in hopes that what they are promising will come true?

I know that this has happened to me on some occasions. The few major promises that were spoken to me did not quite come true. Whether it was my previous employer saying that they will “promise” to give me a raise, my dad saying that he will “promise” to remain in my life, or my friend who will “promise” to keep in touch and maintain some sort of a relationship with me. I cannot say that I ever saw these promises be fulfilled.

But then I have to take a step back and look at my life. Was there ever a time that I made a promise to someone that I could not keep? Of course. There was a time when I promised to meet and hang with my friends and instead I went to dinner with my ex-boyfriend and his friends. There have also been times when I promised my own family that I would do a particular thing, and I unfortunately did not follow through. We all get caught in the easy way of saying “I promise” without taking a step back and looking at the repercussions.   

This past week I have been thinking about a broken promise that was made to me a while back.  I played the words over and over in my head.  One way for me to cope with this broken promise was to do some research on this strong word.

The definition of the word promise is:

a declaration or assurance that one will do or will not do a particular thing.

A few synonyms I found are vow, pledge, and oath.  What a powerful definition for word that is so loosely used.   

It is easy to get caught up in reflecting on the empty promises in our lives. It is easy to become bitter and to sit and wallow about the things that did not come true.  However, sitting and thinking about all the hurt, will not bring us happiness.  A broken promise, whether it be small or large, will never be excusable.  It will of course cause heartache and pain.  So how do we move on from the brokenness in our lives?

Although we are constantly burdened and hurt by the broken promises people stowed upon us, there is one promise that will always remain.  The promise of God’s never ending love will never be broken. There have been times when I felt alone.  I felt angry and wondered why God didn’t show up in certain situations.  Why did this pain have to occur? Yet God showed love to me in different ways. God reminded me that His promise of never-ending love, and always being there for me will never go away. As Jesus was walking with His cross on the way to His own crucifixion, He easily could have dropped that cross, walked away, and went to Heaven to be with God. He could have avoided the pain and suffering…but He didn’t.  

He chose to die on the cross for us. To be beaten and afflicted for us. To be ridiculed and mocked for us. Just to show us how much He loves us. To show us, how much he cares for us. To show us that He will never leave us nor forsake us in our time of need.  To show us that He is the one true God. He knew what was going to happen. He knew the pain that He was going to experience. The ridicule He was going to face.  

Yet through it all, He kept His promise. His promise to be the ultimate sacrifice. To die for our sins just to show us how much He loves us.  

People and their actions can be a disappointment. We hate to admit it, but that’s the truth.  
The power and love of Jesus Christ, will never disappoint. It will never be broken. He is the promise that will never be broken.

Abandoned to Found

Read: Psalm 27:10, Deuteronomy 31:6, Romans 8:38-39

It was that time of the year, once again.  Father’s Day had come.  The worst day of the year.  Well, to me it has been the worst day for the past 16 years.  When I was eight years old, my father walked out on my family.  I remember that day like it was yesterday.  The day my father said he was leaving.  My mother embracing my brother and I as we all sat crying on my bed.  My father stood in the doorway and just watched us as we were sobbing, not setting a foot inside my room.  I was able to muster up the word “Why?” as the tears were rolling down my face.  His response: “I just have to.”  That was it.  No explanation.  Not a word as to why.  My guardian, my protector, my so-called devoted and loving father was gone.  From that day on, I was and forever abandoned.

Growing up “father-less” was mediocre.  During my adolescent years, I managed to hide the pain of the father’s absence very well.  I was very good at pretending everything was “okay”.  Sure, it was difficult to watch as all my friends got dressed up and headed out to the Father-Daughter dance but I was strong.  Nothing could break me down.  I have my heavenly Father.  Why would I need an earthly one?

That was the line I would always repeat to myself.  “I have my heavenly Father, so I am okay, I have my heavenly Father, so I am okay” and so on and so on.  However, I don’t think I truly understood what that meant until just a year ago.  My 23rd year opened my eyes in so many ways.  College was over so it was time for me to become a “true” adult.  Friends and colleagues were getting engaged and having babies.  I let my insecurities take over and allowed it to control my every move.  I dated guys who had no relationship with God, because it was nice to be “noticed” by a man.  A couple days before my 24th birthday, I broke down.  I realized that I was slipping and I needed God more than ever.  Through the tears and sadness I was experiencing, I was comforted by my true Father.  God has never left my side throughout my 24 years of life.  He has been there during my joy, my sadness, my hurts, and my accomplishments.  God finds us, wherever we are in our lives, and will never leave our side.  I have gone from abandoned to found.  I went from having no father, to having a heavenly Father who I can always turn to and know that He will be there.  If you share the same life experience as I do, I encourage you to place your life, your trust, and your love in the only Father you will ever need.  

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