May 16, 2012
Today, I was blessed. I had the opportunity to go and minister to a group of women infected with HIV. The interesting thing that I have found here about sharing my testimony is how many people think that Americans don't suffer. They think that if you have money or education that you have no problems. At one point, one woman told me that she thought that the devil only attacked black people. There is such healing for them (and everyone) in knowing that every human experiences devestation. There is healing in knowing that they are not alone. I find healing during struggles when I know that others experience the same difficulties.
Actually, my husband and I now have a saying when we are going through struggles. Instead of focusing on the difficult situation, we say that we are in the midst of creating an incredible testimony to share with others. I have learned in life that much of our outcomes have to do with the perceptions and outlooks that we form in regards to our situations.
One of my favorite passages of scriptures is:
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." II Corinthians 12:7-10.
It is the difficult situations in life that remind us of our need for a Savior. In America, we tend to be self-reliant and only rely on God if it is convenient for us to do so. I have learned to cherish the troubled times and the times of attack because I am humbled and strengthened in the Lord in the midst of these times.
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