There they were, hiding in the old box in the corner of the attic. They were dusty and the pages were beginning to fade and turn yellow. It was as if they were just waiting to be found! It was spring cleaning time and we made it to the attic. We call our attic the black hole. If we go in and don’t come out in a few hours, come look for us! I avoid the attic at all costs because there is so much to go through. It is daunting. But as I made my way to the far corner of the attic I opened up the box covered in cobwebs. My book journals were waiting for me! I had wondered where these were for so long. Well the black hole kept me there for hours as I began reading one after another. I read story after story and memories flooded. One section where I was struggling as a single Mom, I talked about how I really was not liking my story. It was hard, I was tired, and felt like I was failing at every turn.
I laughed out loud and said “Lisa, it gets better…hang on.”
That just stuck with me “I don’t like my story.” If I could go back and talk to that Lisa who wrote those words, I would
tell her that she really has no idea it will turn out to be one of the best chapters. It was preparing me for what was ahead that I could not see and would eventually lead me to the love of my life, Skipper. And we would have a family of 6 (well 9 if you count fur babies)! That chapter I just didn’t seem to like in my life did not disqualify me from God’s best. It qualified me for an even greater purpose than I would have had without it. In fact the worst parts of the story really are what God uses the most in my life as I look back. The book would not be complete without them. I was more than the part of the story I hated the most. I would have told that Lisa to hang on, the next chapter is just beginning, and it’s a good one. God doesn’t want to tear out the the stories in our lives that are difficult. He wants to repurpose them for good and catapult us to something beyond our wildest dreams. (Eph 3:20)
Hang on, your story is not finished yet.
Don’t tear out the pages. You have a best seller is in the works!