10 years ago: I experienced my first Grand Mal seizure (I had struggled with Petit Mal seizures since childhood) and after much testing was put on a daily medication to control the problem.
5 years ago: We received news my husband's mother was beginning a battle with breast cancer.
4 years ago: We acted by faith and left our first ministry in order for my husband to gain some more seminary education.
3 years ago: I experienced 2 seizures 3 days after the birth of our sweet son. I was hospitalized and put on anti-seizure medicine once again.
2 years ago: We were heartbroken over the issues surrounding a severed relationship.
Currently: We're facing several unknowns in our life, as well as grieving the recent loss of my husband's grandma.
What do all the of the items in this grocery list have in common?
Each is issue that we faced (individually or as a family) that looks like a terrible trial from the outside. However, each has had another, deeper layer of blessing and growth.
If you have followed A Steady Rain for any period of time, you know that our main theme here is to "Develop an awareness of God's daily blessings". While it's been great to acknowledge the huge number of positive aspects to each day, it's also important to realize that blessings don't always come in the form of an unexpected check in the mail or a miraculous healing. Blessings can also arise from death, health issues, broken relationships, and financial stress. In other words, heartache and trials can also be Hidden Blessings.
Over the next 2 weeks, you are going to read some heartfelt testimonies. Each involves a story that looks very negative on the outside, but turned into a blessing in the end.
I hope that you will reflect on what may seem like a terrible inconvenience or "thorn" (II Cor. 12:7) in your life , but could really be a time of growth, molding, and maturing.
*At the end of this series, you will have a chance to link up your Hidden Blessing story at our Friday Feedback post. I pray that we will all have a shift in our thinking and reaction to the "negative" in our lives!
James 1:12: "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."