Isaiah 42:16
"And I will bring the blind by the way that they knew not; I will lead them to paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."
I love this scripture because it is a good reminder
that no matter where we are in life,
the Lord is leading us.
The last few weeks have been rough for me
for various reasons, and it's nice to know
that He'll lead me in the way I should go.
Even if I don't know why I'm struggling,
it's part of my path and my growth.
A month or so ago I got invited to be
a member of Lara Casey's launch team
for her new book
If you don't know being on a launch team
means that you get a copy of the book(usually and ebook),
and then you read it and spread the word about it to those you know.
Having read her first book, I was very excited to dig in to this one.
Life has a funny way of filling up when I'd rather spend my time
reading a book, so I didn't read it as quickly as I liked.
BUT little by little progress is still progress.
I finally finished it a week ago!
It is a well written book that is just
like sitting down with Lara and having a conversation.
Her words of wisdom have blessed my life.
Heavenly Father has answered some prayers through
the words in this book.
One of my favorite chapters was about embracing our season of life.
I came across this gem and it hit me hard:
"Maybe you're in a season of transition, grief, conflict, illness, unanswered prayers, new challenges, or just trying to get by. Maybe you can't imagine how this particular season could be a blessing in disguise. I have a not-so-secret secret to share with you. Do you remember where seeds begin to sprout? In the dirt. We dismiss the dirt and the mess as bad, trying to keep it off our hands and out of our homes. But dirt hods a certain magic, cradling new life. Your past mistakes, your heartache, your circumstances, and the tension you feel right now in your season--every bit of it is part of your growing ground" (pg. 49).
SO GOOD!
When I think back on the journey I've had the last six years,
I am amazed at how all the hard things have become
the nourishing soil that as helped me to stretch and
grow and become this woman Heavenly Father
created me to be.
Sometimes when we're in the thick of it,
it seems impossible that any good will
come out of it in the end,
but I have found in my life
that it all comes together to
help me learn and grow.
The quote above got me thinking about another
book I read called
"Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose
Through the Power of Words"
by Kevin Hall.
In it he talks about different words
and breaks down their roots to find their
meaning and he relates his experiences.
It's one of my favorite books.
One of the words he breaks down is Humility.
He says, The Origin of 'humility' is the
Latin word 'humus' meaning soil,
specifically rich, dark, organic soil.
When a see is planted in fertile soil,
it transforms into something far greater.
The acorn becomes the oak tree.
The smallest of seeds carefully planted
in the spring becomes the bounteous
harvest in the fall.
It all Starts with the nurturing quality of the soil--humus."
To get to the rich, dark, organic soil,
it has to be broken down to the basic
elements of the soil.
Sometimes when we are going through challenging times,
we may feel like we are being broken down.
And in a way we are.
We're being broken down so we
can have fertile ground to grow in.
It points us back to our faith in Jesus Christ.
If we didn't have these experiences we wouldn't grow
and become what He created us to be!
I'm so thankful for all the challenges
that have helped me find more humility
and in turn helped me to learn and grow.
I'm so grateful for where I am right now
in my wonderful beautiful life.
I spent so many years,
waiting and trying to have faith
that He was hearing my prayers.
And now I am living the life I always
asked for with an amazing husband and daughter.
There is so much more from Lara's book
that I could share with you,
but I'll leave it at this and let you
read it and discover what you
might need to hear to learn and
grow in your life!
Also, check out this quote from the book and this song.
The Lord loves us each individually!
"One by One" by Paul Cardall and David A Bednar
