The Worst Thing That Has Ever Happened to You

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?  Would you like to go back in time and change that part of your life or would you keep that part of your life the same because it changed you for the better?

Today, in church, the pastor said that often the worst thing that has ever happened to you can actually be the best thing that has ever happened to you....WHAT?!?!?  How can that be?  The sermon was about Rachel and Leah and their tragic love story of being married to the same man and being in a constant competition with each other.  The pastor said that the marriage between Rachel, Leah and Jacob was probably the worst thing that happened to each of them, BUT great things came out of this marriage...their children.  Their children went on to do great things and their children's children went on to do great things and so on and so on.  A terrible situation brought about great things because God always has a plan for us. 

I began thinking about the worst thing that has ever happened to me and it would have to be the death of my mother.  My mother passed away, after a long battle with cancer, when I was 26 years old.  She was my best friend, my counselor, my personal cheerleader, my teacher and my role model.  She was all those things to me and then she was gone.  She was not at my wedding and she was not there when my children were born.  My children will never get to sit on grandma's lap, get spoiled by grandma or bake cookies with grandma (just kidding, if you knew my mom...she was definitely not a baker, but I know she would have tried for my kids).  They will not know my mom in this lifetime.  [On a side note, my children are extremely blessed to have an amazing grandma in Jesse's mom and I thank God for her and her strong relationship with them.]  So, I guess you could say that the worst thing that has ever happened to me would be the death of my mother.  Could it also be the best thing that has ever happened to me?  The answer is YES!  Like I said, she was my best friend, my counselor, my personal cheerleader, my teacher and my role model.  She was "my person".  She was the first person I turned to when I needed to talk about anything...good or bad.  Even when she was extremely ill, she was always there for me.  She never let me down and she loved me unconditionally.  Then, she was gone and I didn't have "my person".  I didn't have "my person" to be my best friend, to lift me up and encourage me, to counsel me, to teach me and to love me unconditionally.  For a while after she died, I was lost.  Eventually, I found someone who could do all the things that she did for me and could do even more...GOD!  God became "my person"...He is always there for me and He loves me unconditionally.  And, I have learned to love Him too...not just for what He does for me, but for who He is.  My relationship with God is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me!  The worst thing that has ever happened to me resulted in the best thing that has ever happened to me.  My mother's death was, and still is, extremely painful, but it has forever changed me for the better.  So...what is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Would you like to go back in time and change that part of your life or would you keep that part of your life the same because it changed you for the better?

[On another side note, I hope I have not hurt anyone by posting this blog entry.  I really struggled with whether or not to post this entry because I was afraid that it would hurt some people.  I know that my mother's death and illness affected many people.  When my mother died, many people lost a great friend and someone they loved deeply.  Also, my mother suffered for many years and I'm not saying that the purpose of her suffering and death was so that I could grow closer to God.  Only God knows the purpose for her death!  I just know that there was something positive that did come out of her death...a stronger relationship between God and myself.]

Typos

It has been a long time since I have posted.  It has been so long, in fact, that I decided to go back and reread previous posts because I couldn't remember what I had written.  As I read, I was shocked by the number of typos/mistakes that I found.  I was so shocked because I really dislike typos (I think it's the teacher in me) and I know I had proofread those entries at least five times each.  Actually, I proofread anything I write (even my text messages) because I really dislike typos.  I almost went back into each blog entry and corrected my typos/mistakes, but then I stopped myself and began wondering how I could have possibly published those blog entries with so many mistakes when I proofread each entry at least five times.  I realized that I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I wasn't able to think clearly about spelling and grammar.  I began to think about times in my life when I was so caught up in my current situation and how it was so hard to see clearly.  There have been so many times that I have been in the middle of a struggle and I have been unable to really think clearly about things.  On a daily basis, I struggle with life.  I have small struggles, medium-sized struggles and really big struggles.  Through the really big struggles, I have trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I have trouble understanding God's purpose for the struggle.  I focus on the pain, frustration, anger, hurt, loneliness, etc... that I might be feeling at that moment instead of focusing on God's plan for me with that particular struggle.  In the midst of the struggle, I don't think clearly!  When the suffering finally goes away, I can see clearly.  I can see that that particular struggle was actually a blessing...a blessing that brought me to my knees...a blessing that changed my relationship with my Father...a blessing that brought me closer to Him.  I wouldn't have the relationship with God that I have today if it weren't for the suffering that I have endured.  The daily struggles that bring me to my knees have a purpose and the purpose is not to think about how I could have done things differently to avoid suffering and have a perfect life...the purpose is to grow closer to God.  So, I have decided that I will not go back and correct my typos/mistakes and have perfect blog entries.  Instead, I will leave them be and use the time it would have taken me to fix the mistakes to praise God and thank Him for all He has given me!