Blessings…Are they ALWAYS what they seem?

This is an article I wrote for our church newsletter in October 2011... 

Blessings are all warm and fuzzy, and make us FEEL good…Right? I am not so sure about that…

When do you draw closest to God and truly seek His face? When do you surrender all you have and all are to Him who made you? When do you cry out for His light to shine brighter, stronger, BIGGER? 

For me, I draw closest, surrender everything, and cry out when things are not going well, and when **I** can’t do anything else about it. And I know I am not the only one. The big question I have for you today is - What do you do when God doesn’t answer the way you want? Do you still count that as a blessing? 

My life certainly has not turned out the way I had planned. I never dreamed of becoming a single-parent (does anyone?) and adopting kiddos with special needs. It’s rough; AND it’s so beautiful. It’s challenging; AND it’s so rewarding. It makes me crazy; AND it gives me unending joy. It draws me closer to God each and every day; AND that is the biggest blessing of all!
So, when things aren’t going right and obstacles seem to be stacking up in front of you, seek HIM. KNOW He will bless you IN and WITH those hard times. He will make your life story beautiful. 

Laura Story says it so marvelously in her song “Blessings”:

“'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise”

May God bless you and yours today!!