Rays of Light

She bounced up and down with such zeal, that buckets of powdery red dirt flew from her clothing onto my freshly scrubbed floors. “That was EPICALLY AMAZING!” she whooped. My precious athlete looked as though she had worn half of the softball field home, but nothing new there. She was scraped-up a bit too. Typical mom that I am, I hurt for her when she comes home with even the slightest injuries, but she never gives them a second thought because she learned a long time ago that victory has a price.

Disappointed that I couldn’t be there, I listened intently as she joyfully recounted her triple play, stolen bases and especially her “killer” dive into second base. Her team happened to “smoke” the opponents this time, but my daughter always has great sportsmanship win or lose. To her, the real victory is not in the scoreboard, but in the challenge of getting out there in the heat of the battle and giving it her all, knowing that if she does her best, she is a winner no matter what. I only hope that she will remember to keep the same attitude during her roughest battles in life.

After her play-by-play, my daughter ran off to shower. I remembered all the dirt that she would be washing off (because the shower was freshly scrubbed too) and thought about the refreshing that comes after a hard-earned victory.

This led me to reminisce about some of my own past victories. To be honest, I’m about as athletic as a three-legged elephant, and equally agile, but I know what it’s like to face life’s battles and triumph victoriously against all odds. If you have read my testimony, His Invisible Hand, you will know that I encountered God in an incredible, supernatural way, which has caused me to have great faith. Consequently, there have been certain battles which I conquered with barely a sweat broken. Other battles were not quite as easy. I walked away from some of those feeling injured and weary, needing much healing and reassurance afterward.

Still other battles raged in my life with such unrelenting ferocity that I stumbled, and questioned whether my faith was enough. I am being completely honest with you in admitting that one such battle nearly destroyed me, even as a believer. Had it not been for my loving, super-supportive husband, I might’ve stopped trusting God to see me through that particular battle.

I reminded God of His promise that He works all things together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. And then I adamantly insisted that “nothing good could ever come of this situation, never!” (Disclaimer: arguing with God, can be harmful to your spiritual health.)

Thankfully, I was wrong! Terribly wrong! It took me more than five years, but I was finally able to see how much good actually did come from that big, ugly mess. And, it took me that much time to wash away the grimy bondage which resulted from the deep wounds incurred. The people that wronged me (beyond belief) have never apologized nor changed their behavior in any way that I am aware of, but God used the situation to change me. He made me a far better and exceedingly stronger person.

I’m sharing this today because I have so many friends that are going through some pretty epic battles; perhaps you are too. You might even be feeling hopeless and doubt whether or not you have the faith to keep up the fight.

Let me encourage you that it is in your weakness that God makes you strong. It is in your failures that you learn to succeed. And it is in the face of overwhelming battles that you will face your most epically awesome victories. Remember, victory comes at a price. It may be a high price, but your Father in Heaven will never leave you or forsake you and He is, even now, stepping up to the plate on your behalf.