A New Book

Since I made it through that last book, Raising Kids for True Greatness, and really liked it, I decided I would try to continue reading something besides child abuse cases! I did not know what to read next, though, and had picked up a book that hasn't really captured me. Today Brent came from with a bunch of books that his Church Planting Coach, and more importantly friend, gave to him from a conference he attended. One of them is called God Never Wastes a Hurt by Jim Reeve. I liked the title, so I decided to start reading it. Then after I had thrown a really lousy dinner together, Brent told me to take the book and go to Starbucks for a while and have some time alone, which was incredibly nice because I was really tired of being a mom today.

I ran to Costco and got a few necessary groceries, then went to Starbucks for an orange frappucino (I hate coffee!!) and read the first chapter of the book. So far, it's really good! You can kind of gather from the title what the book is about, and I have certainly, like most of you, experienced a lot of pain in my life. I know that God uses those painful times, but it is always good to read about that and be encouraged. Several things stood out in the book tonight. First of all, Romans 8:37 says, "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." the author pointed out the "more than conqueror" part. In Greek, these three word are one and the prefix for it is the word from which we get the word "hyper." He says that we are "hyper-conquerors." He said, "God does not declare His children to be victors on occasion or by the slimmest of margins, but rather champions who relentlessly defeat their opponents." That is encouraging to me. It may take a while, but with Christ I can conquer the painful times in my life.

He talks about our mountaintop experiences in our faith, which are so encouraging, but can almost become discouraging because of the long valleys between them. He said the key is not to forget what God said and did during the mountaintop experiences. Sometimes when we are stuck in the valley, those memories are so faint. While those experiences are amazing and wonderful, it is usually in the valleys that our faith grows and is strengthened. It is also important to remember that God is with us, protecting us during those valley times, even if it does not necessarily feel like it.

He also spent a lot of time talking about the Valley of the Shadow of Death. I had never thought about the fact that David says "Shadow of Death" instead of just "Death." He pointed out the difference and how crucial it is that the word shadow is there. Mr. Reeve said, "Shadows are typically bigger than the reality they represent." We need to remember that beyond the dark valley is light and during our valley look eagerly for the light ahead. Satan would like nothing better than to keep us in the dark! That is all easier said than done. I have had several times in my life when I knew there would be something on the other side. I remember one time, in particular, saying to Brent, "I can't wait until we can look back on today and know why God put us through this." I knew there was light ahead, but it still hurt and drug me down while I was in the midst of the struggle. But, those feeling of pain and anger and frustration and what made me choose to depend on God. If I could just, on my own, say this is no big deal because there is an end in sight, I don't know how much it would have done for my walk with the Lord. I hate those times, but they are times or great dependence on my Creator, which is awesome!

I think I am going to enjoy this book and am excited to keep reading it. It's cool how God cares about little things, even what books we are reading. He knows that I don't love to read. He knows that I want to read because it is good for me and teaches me a lot. He knew I was not really enjoying the book I had picked up. So he sent this book, via David, to Brent, had him sit it on the kitchen counter so that I would see it and pick it up. I know it's silly, but I think that is cool!