God Uses the Ordinary to do Something Extraordinary
Right before Christmas I was going about doing my usual list making for gift giving. I was thinking deeply about each child and what we could get them. I laughed to myself because I had this funny little idea for my 13 year old daughter…
All of a sudden, out of nowhere God used the ordinary to teach me something quite extraordinary!
Many of you that know me, know that I had a very rough upbringing. Alcoholism, Divorce, Abuse…(you can read my personal testimony if you are not familiar with my story) Anyway, as you can imagine I spent many years after getting clean and sober working through soooo many issues from my past. I am happy to report that God has healed my heart to an unimaginable overflowing of His Grace..
I am rarely ever bothered about my past and yet there are lessons that will take a lifetime to see the depth of where God wants to take us. This was one of those moments that clonked me on the head out of know where..
When I was a teenager about the age of 13 my Step Mom bought me a bottle of shampoo for Christmas..that was the only present that I received that year..it has always hurt me and it’s one of those stories that I tell people when I am speaking about my past and abuse issues..
But what if my perspective was wrong…
Back to my teenage daughter…She is a Basketball player and works out really hard..therefore she washes her hair ALOT so that it’s not so greasy from working out all the time. Well I thought it might be kind of funny to buy her a giant bottle of shampoo for Christmas…
See where I’m going with this??
Maybe, just maybe my Step Mom didn’t mean to hurt me..maybe she meant it as sort of a joke and really wanted to bless me with lots of shampoo? She is not perfect and we did not have a good relationship, she was hurtful in many ways, but maybe on this occasion, she meant well.
God was clearly speaking to my heart. I have long since forgiven my Step Mom..and she has asked for forgiveness. I too have asked for forgiveness…
But God..
Well..He wants to surprise us! To show us things for the rest of our lives and want’s us to continue to grow in Him. God used an ordinary innocent funny thought I had toward my daughter to do something extraordinary and show me that maybe I don’t have all the answers, maybe I don’t see all the details, maybe I’M the one that needs the Grace more than my Step Mom.
35 years later…still learning and growing 🙂
Has God shown you something in yourself lately that surprised you?
I’m linking up with Brag on God Fridays!
God is so faithful, even when we lack faith…there are so many times in my life that God shows up and says “did you see that?” or “do you remember that?” He once put a woman in my life hows job was to tell me “be still”. It took me years to understand why she arrived. Her name was Katrina, she was in and out of my life before the Hurricane by the same name arrived. My point is that God used that hurricane to get my attention. Admittedly it is still hard for me to “be still”, but the rest of that verse is “and behold the salvation of the Lord”. Our God is an awesome God to say the least.
~Jill
Hi Jill! What a wonderful story..Yes God is sooo amazing..and He is always at work..we just need to be watching and listening for Him..even in our every day life don’t we! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with me!
Blessings!
Loved your post! Would that we put ourselves in the other’s shoes more often!
Thanks Esther! Blessings!
I love this! I love how great God is at helping us see differently.
Thank you for linking up!!
Hi Laura! I LOVE your blog and plan on connecting often..God is sooo good and I LOVE how you want to Glorify HIM!
Blessings!
love, love, love this story! God speaks to us as we are, where we are, in so many ways…often quiet little ways. That message (in the bottle) has been waiting years for you to be ready to receive it.
Peace and good.
Hi Chelle! I love how you put that Chelle..
Emotional pain can be so difficult to work through..but when we are open to whatever God has for us in our growth He can do amazing healing in us..supernatural healing 🙂 Something we simply cannot conjure up on our own!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Blessings to you!
What a neat post! God is truly amazing!
Hi there Jamie! Yes God is sooo amazing! He loves us too much to let us stay the same, doesn’t He! 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by. By the way LOVE you site!!
Blessings!
What a truly great post. G-d has always granted me my most basic needs and I feel truly blessed to have him in my life. I truly am so happy for you with your story. Thank you so much for sharing. Many blessings for you:)
Thank you Melissa! God does amazing things doesn’t He! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
Great post and story. I have moments like that myself.
Hey there Heather! Thanks so much! Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings!
What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing. Its all too easy to think of the negative in our past lives. The lesson sometimes is trying hard to find the positive in those negative times. I’ve had my fair share of bad times long long ago.
Thanks again for sharing.
Wonderful story
Kevin
Hi Kevin!
Thank you for your kind comment! It definately helps to know that all things work out for good if we will just be open to it! Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings! 🙂
I think God does amazing things every day and sometimes we learn things that seem to come out of nowhere, but He is teaching us. Thank you for sharing this story.
That is most definately true Jessica! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Blessings!
I truly believe there is a lesson in everything, sometimes it takes 35 years to get the lesson, but the teaching will be remembered for a lifetime! Wonderful story, thanks for sharing 🙂
LOL for sure Stacey..sometimes it definately takes 35 years or more to get those hard lessons in life..or maybe it’s just being more open to whatever God wants to show us and being willing to accept HIS perspective in things. Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings!
It’s always nice when you have one of those “Ah Ha!” moments in life. So often we overlook those things and then out of nowhere God shows us something and we are able to look at things in a different light.
🙂 Have a great day!
Sarah
That is so true Sarah…our perspectives change over the years and especially when God just jumps right in there and boom the light bulb goes on 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings!
I love how you can see the past with new lens!
this is a nice thought for today
Thanks Karla 🙂
Blessings to you and thanks for stopping by 🙂
God is AWESEOME! I love how HE shows us things and wants us to be patient because it’s well worth waiting for! HE has shown me that He will bless us w/ baby 5 numerous times lately and each month I am disappointed when it hasn’t happened yet but each time He shows up and reminds me of His promises. He is a faithful God! 🙂 <
That is so awesome Nicole..I am praying with you that God will bless you with another one of His great blessings! You are awesome 🙂 And for sure God is faithful! Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings to you!
That sounds just like something the Lord would do. Loved your story.
Hi Sandy! Thanks so much for stopping by! Isn’t that so like God..He is quite amazing isn’t He!
Blessings