The Pity Party & the Whisper

OK, first, let's rewind 2 weeks... I wake up with severe pains in my chest/stomach area, can't figure out why - not persistant pains, very random. This continues for a few days, I end up in the ER... several doctor visits and tests (and I don't even know yet how much money in doctor bills) later the pain stops and I still have no answers to why they started. Next, my husband (a police officer who was recently hit by a car and suffered major injury to his ear) finds out that he failed his yearly physical exam because he couldn't pass the hearing test in the ear that was injured. And, to top that he has 30 days to get more detailed testing or he may be "pulled off the street". Seriously, God? That's 2, 3's a charm... Then I find out that my sister (a 35 year old mother of 3) may go to jail in a few weeks. All of this during the last few weeks of school and sports!


I tried really, REALLY hard not to let this all get me down, not to be consumed by my circumstances and to try to remember that He has a purpose in ALL things. But I slipped. Without even deciding, I slid right into my own personal pity party. Thoughts were flying through my head like these...

Your family is SO "Jerry Springer"

What in the world will you do if your husband's job is in jeopardy?

How did you not end up like the other screw-ups in your family?

What if something's really wrong with you and you don't find out???

I could go on and on about the thoughts that were in and out of my head. Thankfully, I know a loving God who whispered in my ear just when I needed Him to "You're a child of God. I define you. Everything else doesn't matter." Over and over again I kept hearing that (Hhmmmm, you think maybe he had a blog post in mind?). I'm not defined by the mistakes that people in my family have made. I trust in a powerful God that will take care of me through ALL things. He is there for me, when I ask and even when I forget - and start letting bad thoughts take over my head. God proved himself in such a big way. You see, I didn't ask for His help. He knew what I needed to hear and exactly when I needed to hear it. He pulled me out of my own personal pitty party with a whisper!

John 1:12 - Yet to all who received him, to those that believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.