I’ve had a rough couple of days. A friend of many years said some really hurtful things to me that totally took me by surprise. I was so caught off guard that I haven’t known how to respond and I’ve replayed our relationship over and over in my mind wondering what I’ve done wrong. It hasn’t been fun. It’s kept me up at night. And it’s clouded my days.
This morning I’d promised to meet a gal for coffee. Although she goes to our church I did not really know her. She is a gorgeous, forty-eight year old woman who has had a very successful career at top levels here in Washington, DC. To her disappointment she’s never married, and she recently lost her job.
When I asked her about her life, she shared her disappointments honestly yet she focused on the specific ways she is experiencing God at work in her life. Woven into her story were recent examples of little ways she’s observed God’s hand each day from an unexpected credit on a bill to an encouraging conference she’d attended. When I asked her what had given her the peace I noticed she replied, “I’ve discovered that when I awake in the morning I have a choice. I can choose to live for God today or I can choose to focus on my circumstances and my pain. So each day I am attempting to choose God.”
What was evident to me was that her simple choice was bringing her peace and joy.
My new friend encouraged me. Her life is totally unlike mine. Yet we, as women, struggle with many of the same issues. However, because her world is so different listening to her gave me a fresh perspective. Hearing how God was speaking to her in her disappointments encouraged me and restored my own perspective. Not only was I reminded that daily I must choose to focus on God but I also experienced the joy of hearing how He was at work in someone else’s life.
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