Can God be Trusted?

Tanner and I went to Barnes and Noble Bookstore on one of our "Mommy Tanner days"  and I grabbed a book from the Christian section, as I usually do, and sat down in the little kiddy area so Tanner could play with the stuffed animals and look at books.  I picked up a book by Carol Ladd called Thrive don't Simply Survive.

As I was flipping through it, I came across the title, "Can God be Trusted?" I stopped to read and this is what she said, "Are we willing to trust God even though we don't understand his ways?"

I thought for a minute before reading on..."Huh, do I?"

Then I kept reading...She quoted Saint Bernard of Clairvauz, "If we begin to worship and come to God again and again by meditating, by reading, by prayer, and by obedience, little by little God becomes know to us through experience.  We enter into a sweet familiarity with God, and by tasting how sweet the Lord is we pass into...loving God, not for our own sake, but for Himself."

I think I stopped at this particular subject because it is right where I am at.  There are so many things that are out of my control right now and it is driving me crazy.  There are times that I think, "Seriously God, " as if He plays jokes on us.  And then there are times that I think, "God I know that you have this situation in the palm of Your hands.  I will walk with you wherever you lead." 

Encouragement came when I read Ladd's list of some reasons we have trials.

So...Why Trials?

1.  Trial offer us a chance to grow.
2.  Trials offer us an opportunity to empathize with and encourage others.
3.  Trials remind us of our need for God's care and help.
4.  Trials lead us back to our loving God.
5.  Sometimes trials are God's way of disciplining His children.
6.  Trials allow us, in a small way, to share in the suffering of Christ.

In all of this, I know that God is drawing me closer to Himself as long as I chose to follow Him through it. 

Can I trust Him? 

You bet!!

There is no one else I'd rather put my trust in than a loving Father who desires the best for me and will use every situation and circumstance to bring glory to Himself. 

John Calvin said it best, "Our inklings of the realities of God will be vague and smudged until we learn from Scripture to think correctly about the realities of which we are already aware."

Sometimes the trials are painful, but with every growing pain, I learn a different attribute of our precious Lord.  Every step brings clarity to His Word.  With every act of obedience bring blessings.  I am falling more and more in love with my Creator!

If you are going through a tough time I pray that God's Word would illumine the way. 

Trust Him! 

YES, He CAN be trusted!!

~Kerry

A New Season in Life!

"My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit."  ~Jeremiah 2:11

Definitely a new season for the White household.  Through God's grace, we have been provided a place to stay while we continue to pursue ministry with college students at UT.

I started this post with this particular verse because even though I am VERY grateful for a place to transition into ministry, I am grieving leaving our current residence.   Even though we know 100% that God was leading us to sell it...it is still a very hard transition.  I am trying so hard to not make it about "status" or "comfort."  But reality is...I still struggle with those at times. 

But the biggest hardship is "change."  I never really liked it but was always up for it.  But what I am realizing now is that with children involved it makes it even harder.  I start to doubt, thinking..."God, are we really hearing YOU?  You know we got a lot on the line here?"  And in those moments I want to settle for "comfort." 

Let me explain.  One evening before bedtime I curled up in bed with Parker because he was having a very hard day.  One of those where you see a 7 year old acting like a 2 year old.  So, I asked him if there was anything bothering him.  He buried his head in my shoulder and just started to cry uncontrollably.  Then he said, "I don't want to move.  I want to stay in this house." 

Now I know that he is just a 7 year old and he doesn't make family decisions.  But...it broke my heart.  I don't like to see my children hurting. 

Then it reminded me of when I was 11 years old.  I can vividly remember my mother telling me that she was going to be moving to a town 2 hours away for her job.  She told me that it would be for just 1 year.  She gave some complicated reason why she had to go for her job.  I can remember the emotions, the hurt, the lump in my throat and the pain in my stomach thinking of not having my mom around. 

And then when she finally did it.  Oh, the pain!!  The nights of crying myself to sleep.  The days at school feeling lonely and helpless.

And in that moment of God reminding me of my past, He also gave me joy in knowing that our family will be TOGETHER.  His sweet voice whispered in my ear, "Trust me.  All things work together for your good.  This is what is right and perfect for your FAMILY--to stay together and pursue ME!"

So, as we transition into this exciting season in our lives, my prayer is that we would not "exchange our glory for that which does not profit."  It doesn't matter where we are as long as we are moving towards our precious Lord and pursuing Him as a family.  He will take care of the rest.

More to come on this!  :)

~Kerry