by T.M. Brunson
I am so behind in writing. I have been getting ideas of things to write about and haven't had a moment sit and formulate thoughts this week. I have my girls with me every other week; but even the weeks they aren't here, I am busy—either with work, around the house, or doing things for them.
However, something just touched me. And, I wanted to sit down and write about it while it was on my "spirit."
So I figured I would write while I had a moment and could stop and focus.
I am not a "preachy" person at all. So, if you do not have faith in anything other than yourself, this post might not be for you. And I am ok with that.
I am a person who grew up in church. I would be in church all day because my mother was a member of five choirs. I would get bored, fall asleep, or sulk.
I couldn't wait until I grew up so I didn't have to have my Sundays taken over by church.
But guess what? I still went. Not all day. And, I would choose the early service just so I didn't have to be in there all day. There's something about faith. Something about believing in something...some One, that comforts me.
And when I went through one of the most difficult periods over the past two years, I witnessed how God, a Higher Power—whatever you want to call it—started putting people and placed certain things in my life, in my path, to help me get through it.
I mean, it's truly amazing, when you think about it. I used to get down and out and random people would text me or tell me, "God's got this." Or, I would, literally, see signs that said this.
MY TESTIMONY
I would be connected with people who I haven't spoken to in YEARS. And the conversation they would have and the insight they would give me or the things that they would tell me about their lives not only heightened our bond but also gave me life.
My spirit was being fed. And random doors were opening.
My credit score was below a 600. NO ONE would rent to me. How in the world was I able to buy a house? I was upside down on my car. As I was going to the grocery store to help someone else out, I got into a car accident and totaled my car. Insurance paid my car off but I had no money to purchase a new car. Someone mentioned to me, at random, that I could borrow from my 401K. I was able to get money to put a down payment on a new car.
A pipe burst and and flooded my kitchen back in September. I lived with my floors all jacked up for six months. I was swindled by an adjuster so I had enough money to pay a plumber and the mold company and to buy floors, but not enough to get them installed. And since the floors were continuous throughout the house, they all needed to be replaced except for the bedrooms and the bathrooms.
One contractor wanted $9K, another contractor wanted almost as much. I only had $1900 left from the insurance. A friend reached out. Their contractor came to look at my house and said: $1800.
Seriously?
This contractor had NO idea how much money I had and neither did my friend.
Look at God.
Then, when the floors were being laid down, we found mold and carpenter ants. I called the former mold company and he told me what to do to get rid of the minor mold that I had. I called several companies to get quotes for the ants. They were all pricey. A friend was able to get me something that would get rid of them (that I had to do while the girls were away) and other friends gave me natural remedies for maintenance.
Now, my girls don't have to stub their toes when walking through the kitchen anymore. When they came home and saw the new floors, they were SO happy. They took off their shoes and started sliding across the kitchen floor and just sitting in the middle of it—being happy.
THE UPSIDE OF THE PANDEMIC
This whole pandemic has given me the chance to explore different religions and different churches/meetings since everything is online. Random friends would invite me and send me link after link. I would go and check it out.
This morning, as I was cleaning, and listening to my Amazon Music playlist when a FB notification popped up on my feed from a church that I was invited to by my realtor. I clicked on it and the choir was singing.
I love a good choir.
So I broadcasted the service to my television and continued to clean. The message was about "The Old is Gone and the New has Come." How some of us want to go back to the old things and old way of thinking. But when we get stuck, we have to know that the old way has got to pass and that God will open up doors for us.
I went out with old and new friends this weekend, just talking about life, how we interact with people, and who we let into our "space." Listening to them talk and noticing the dynamics of the different people who have been placed in my life, I wondered what I was learning.
And, recently, I connected with someone "new" and his mellow spirit has brought a welcomed calmness into my life—in the midst of whatever chaos is going on.
Everything happens for a reason.
But no matter what, we have to remember that we will still continue to make mistakes. We will not be perfect. All we have to do is ask for help and watch our blessings blossom.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
This global pandemic has shaken up everyone's lives. What "old"have you gotten rid of and what's the "new" in your life?