SCRIPTURE: Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2. The Lord builds up Jerusalem, he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.12. Extol the Lord, Jerusalem, praise your God, Zion. 13. He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. 14. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.[Psalm (147: 1-3 and 12-14) NIV.]
In August of 2010 and June of 2012, I launched my sons from the nest. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to be reflective of the goodness and light of God that has permeated the lives of my sons and me. After ten years of marriage, I was asked by a psychologist if I had the courage to face the realities of my life circumstances and govern myself accordingly. The truth that was before me was hard to bear and so began a real valley experience.
It was 1998, my children were six and four respectively; I had been married to someone who I believed to have a good heart. We were married in the church, we had been a part of a ministry that I believed taught and exemplified Christian principles. Unfortunately, for my children and me I had been living the life of the character Laura in the Julia Roberts suspense movie “Sleeping with the Enemy”. I was totally blindsided by the truths that were before me. The truths that were unveiled could easily be a fitting format for a “Lifetime” television drama. The saving grace was the life and light that is found in the scriptures. As Psalm 147 states the “Lord builds up Jerusalem” and building up began in the lives of my children and me. At the conclusion of the matter, I loved the light that truth embodies and loved the Lord and my children more than the life I believed I had.
Indeed, it was the light and love of God which gave my children and me beauty for our ashes. I recall basking myself in the comfort of the Psalms on a daily basis. I would also read a Proverb each day which began to cultivate the wisdom and knowledge I now possess. I began to flourish in the guidance and comfort I found in God’s word. A great psychologist and the prayers of the righteous also were gifts given to my sons and me during this time of revelation of light and truth.
In addition, Psalm 147 states that “he heals the brokenhearted”. I remember the times I would lay hands on my heart and recite Hebrews: 12:5 “….and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble”. I did this because I did not want to become a woman defiled by the behaviors that some man had inflicted upon me. Furthermore, Psalm 147 tells us that “he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.” My sons and I are a written epistle of the miracle of the light and love of the Lord. We have flourished and continue to flourish as a result of the unbinding love and light of God. At Trinity, we have the Rebuilding course which helps people walk out of the ashes of divorce into the beauty of the light and love that God has promised. Again, we see this proclaimed in Psalm 147 where the Lord says he will “…bind up their wounds”.
Lastly, Psalm 147 states “Praise the Lord, How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” I am grateful for the illuminating light that was shone in my home many years ago. It was the Light that empowered me to have the courage to do something about the circumstances that had befallen my children and me and it was the Light that gave us beauty for our ashes.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, during this season of Advent, encourage those who are called by your name to pursue the truths that only can be found in the word of God. Please encourage our hearts and minds to know that those who choose to be followers of your truth will have lives illuminated by your love and light. Amen
Angela Davis
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Dan Johnson. 352-317-4409
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