I was sitting here the other night working hard at reading my email and such trying to avoid doing what I needed to do.  See, I had to write this email about myself and send it to a very sweet couple in my church who have been led to help me and my children because well...we have been having a rough go of it.  Originally it was supposed to be a nice little thank you letter for all they had done and my letting them know just how much I appreciated all they had done.  But I couldn't get it just right and God kept tapping me on the shoulder...interrupting me because He had an entirely different idea of what I should be writing.  As it turned out, I ended up typing a very long email telling this couple about my life.

After writing it...I had to hit send quickly before I changed my mind about letting someone know so much about me.  I have always had this thing that when people tend to know too much about you they tend to shy away from you for fear some of your life might rub off on them.  I am usually very private about my life and don't let many people get too close for fear of getting hurt.  Needless to say, God had very different ideas and I shared a lot more than I intended.

Being the good people that they are they did not run for the hills but got a glimpse of who I am...and why I am the way that I am.  See, God knows me.  He knows every good and bad time...every joy and pain...every piece of my life has been laid out for a purpose.  Sometimes, even as Christians we tend to get lost in the things of the world and forget that all we have to do is look up and ask for guidance and be led down the path He laid out.  So, He sends people into our lives to remind us and help us to get back on that path.  People who have been down the paths of life that you have been on.  Because we are so caught up in the world we miss the words He is trying to tell us and He uses them so that we can hear Him.

In all of this I learned a couple of very valuable lessons.  One, your going to go through things in life that bring you to a place where you begin to desire...even thirst for His guidance and want to do His will.  Second, people are going to come and go in your life...some will hurt you...some will love you...some will help you...and some will be a force in your life that help you to grow.  And finally, no matter what...it is ok to let someone into your life now and then without the fear of getting too close.

We all have "things" in our lives...hidden in a closet in our heart that only we have the key to.  But the reality is no matter how many locks you put on your heart...no matter how thick you make the walls...no matter how dark and deep it is...God is there.  He knows our inner most secrets, hurts, and desires and He can not be locked out.  And when you finally decide to break the chains and locks on that door He will be right there to help you pick up the pieces and take out the trash.  You will become a stronger person because of it.

In all this my thought today is this...we are going to hurt, laugh, cry, and go through many trials in our lives.  The key is to not lock them away where you can go back and visit them and feel all those things so that you can dwell and live in the past.  But to allow God to take them and make you into a new creature in Him.  That when He brings people into your life to not be afraid to let them see you and help you through all that stuff that is mucking up your life.  Because once He gets ahold of it, it will all just fade away and you will be a better person because of it.  God can...if you will just let him.

Thank you to my very special friends Connie & Ernie for loving me...and my family enough to help us clean up the muck in our lives.  And thank you for helping me to hear His voice again.  And especially...for helping me take out the trash in my life.