Restoration cont....

A friend of mine once told me "its amazing how God can restore you to your destiny at any point in your life" "this is probably the destiny that God had planned for you a long time ago but instead of doing things his way you did them your way, and now that you are allowing his will to be done and he’s restoring you back to your rightful place" thanks to her I was driving home from work one day and Restoring the Years by Donald Lawrence came on…and on THAT day, after THAT conversation THAT song meant so much more to me.

The feeling that came over me while hearing that song made my soul cry with joy. Restoration means something miraculous! As the song was playing I could hear my friend’s words reigning in my mind…. Restoring is when your heading down the wrong path and God steps in and allows a detour that will lead you back to him, Restoring does not simply mean to replace something, it also means fixing something that was broken … it does not merely consist of restocking inventory with something better but it can also mean completely revamping inventory by changing packaging (the way you dress and how you are perceived by others) and the storage place (the company you keep).

Restoration happens when your willingness to live a Godly life and God’s timing collide…then and only then will we be prepared to handle the type of blessings that God’s wants to bestow upon us. We have to be at the point in our lives where we allow him to take away what we have in mind for ourselves…and allow his will to be done (whatever that may be). It means replacing our thoughts with his thoughts, yielding to him to help diminish the power of our flesh and build our spirit… But we must first desire more than just pain being replaced with joy we must desire a closer relationship with God because then and only then will we be restored with increase like in Job 42 when Job prayed for his friends and God blessed him with twice as much as he had before… Verse 12 begins by saying ‘So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning…

So today my voices are praying that we as people remember that it is time to take self out of the equation. My voices are praying for God's guidance and my willingness to follow, because I know only then will my life and God's timing collide causing my time of restoration.

Until Next Time...

No Destination is Set in Stone

A few years ago I was blessed with a great job opportunity that I was very thankful for, it was great pay & great benefits. It allowed me to provide for myself, and my family in a way that I had only previously dreamed about.  It opened my mind to something greater than I ever imagined possible at my age and living in Louisiana.  In the beginning I tried to stay grounded and always give thanks for the blessing that I was experiencing with this job, but over time it was as if I forgot about what was truly important.  The longer I worked there, the more I lost sight of exactly how valuable that experience was.  I allowed the actions of others to overcome me and make me someone that I did not want to be.  I began to defend myself in ways that I never had before. When I started this job I was really mild mannered and didn’t say much unless it was absolutely necessary, before leaving this job I was very outspoken, but not necessarily in a good way.  There were many people who felt that I didn’t deserve the job and I took it upon myself to start voicing my opinion about how I deserved the job just as much as anyone else, because I had time in this field and education.  I can look back and realize now that this wasn’t a battle for me to fight and it wasn’t my place to say those things.  I was supposed to continue to give God the glory and let my blessings speak for themselves and allow others to interpret my blessings however they saw fit.

When I was laid off from this job I can honestly say I didn’t know what to feel.  I had so many emotions going on.  I was angry, hurt, disappointed, confused and lets not forget I was going to be broke! I couldn’t understand why God allowed me to lose my job and walk away with nothing.  Out of everyone there, why me? I re-evaluated that time of my life over and over again trying to figure out where I went wrong and I kept coming up short…until recently.  

I can now clearly see how that job lead to a dead end road. I took too many wrong turns and allowed the wrong scenery to catch my attention.  Its now obvious to me how that time in my life made me who I am now.  I am no longer a push over, but I now know when to speak.  I TRY not to fight my own battles, because they aren’t mine to fight. I’m more mindful about the people I trust and if I happen to trust someone that doesn’t deserve such an honor, I take it for what it is and move on. No explanation needed, no love lost.  I view it as another lesson… I have the understanding to review my mistakes and form a What-Not-To-Do-List…and believe me it comes in handy!

This is why I say, “my blessings were NOT a mistake and neither were my disappointments! God knows exactly what I need, in order to be who he wants me to be!” When it seems as if God has allowed your blessings to be taken away from you… he hasn’t. He allows things to happen to us, not to hurt us or stumble us, but to humble us and build us.  God will allow you to experience little blessings to test your growth…see, its up to you if those little blessings become major blessings.  It’s all about how you handle what you’re being given at that time.  Everyone’s life is mapped out, and on the map there are multiple destinations and multiple paths.  The paths you choose dictate your next stop in life and what happens along the way.  But, be mindful, because the pit stops you make in life have the power to adjust your destination.  No destination is set in stone; one wrong turn puts you on a completely different path!  

So today my voices are saying:  When things are going good in your life remember to give God thanks. Otherwise, God may give you a reason to call on him.

There is no such thing as a Final Destination…The journey of life is traveled along endless roads, full of possibilities!

Until Next Time…