Stand up 8

We've all heard that before, right? Fall down seven times, stand up eight. Please be more cliche' Nicole, but here's the thing...it's true. Unless you're me, then it's more like, fall down 296378598379824 times, stand up 296378598379825 (#clumsyprobz) but in all honesty, we have ALL fallen, sometimes so hard that it's hard to think we might ever stand back up again. Sometimes we fall, and trip.. into a hole, and it's a dark, muddy, smelly, awful hole with no light, and no ladder, and no way out... you get the picture. I've been in that hole, friends, and I got so cozy in that little hole that I thought maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe I could make a nice little mold sculpture or something. WRONG. It's okay to fall, because well...we're human, and its going to happen, but it's not okay to stay there. The good news is, that while building my mud castles deep within my muddy lair, I learned something...there is a way out! There is a light that breaks all darkness, a light that cannot be contained, the Way, the Truth, and the Light; and His name is Jesus.

You guys, I am SO in love with Jesus, more, and more, and more each & every day. I crave His word, I cling to Him for survival in the very darkest of places where I've been; but it wasn't always like that. You see, in my very dark pit, I found that nothing I once treasured was going to get me out of it, though I tried them all; it was not until I fixed my eyes and my heart on Jesus; that I was finally able to see His light.

God uses what is meant for evil, for the good of those who love Him, what a good God.

God's light doesn't always just shine on all our flowers & rainbows though, He shines His light into the darkest, deepest, most sacred, broken places of our hearts and souls in order that we might see our wrongs, and ask forgiveness, so that our hearts may be reconciled with God who loves us! He longs to love us, to forgive us, to heal us, and to be in relationship with us; but that involves trusting Him, and that isn't always easy right? I mean, I don't even trust my cat (rightfully so), so how can we place our trust in God? By getting to know Him.

The more we know God, the more we know His character, His faithfulness, His goodness, His truths, His laws, and His promises over our lives; the more we can wholeheartedly begin to trust Him, and the more we can let Him into our hearts, and our lives, to do what only God can do.

Y'all this has been a W.I.L.D.E.R.N.E.S.S. season (Can I get a hand-clap please!?) but it has also been a season where I have sought God more than ever in my life, because I HAD too, which by His grace, has become more and more of a "want to" and a "need to", than a "have too", for which I am eternally grateful! God used the setbacks, distractions, failures, and fall-downs that were meant to harm me, as a means for me to SEEK HIM WITH MY WHOLE HEART! To make me hunger for His word, to wreck the parts of me that needed to be wrecked, and to bring me ever closer to Him as He has shown me time and time again just how faithful He is.

I am still climbing up out of that hole, but friends, it's a whole lot easier when Jesus hands you a rope lol I am stronger now than I ever could be on my own, for the strength of Christ is in me. He is the solid rock on which I stand, and I will not be shaken, for He fights for me. He makes my steps secure, He puts a new song of praise on in my heart, and on my lips. So I will fear the Lord, and put my trust in Him alone; for from Him comes my salvation.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."

(Psalm 40: 1-3)

If your going through a wilderness season right now too, a heartbreak, a loss, or a just really tough time, I want to encourage you today to keep your eyes on Jesus. Everything around you may feel like it is crumbling, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen! He is steadfast and eternal, and He will put your feet back on solid ground, because He has a purpose for you! For your life, a purpose only you can do, because He designed it just for you. So stand up 8, even if you have to start out crawling, because your purpose is so much bigger than you could ever imagine (a post for another day) and God's not done with you yet, keep your eye on Him, and He will cause you to fly on wings like eagles! Amen! <3

Always,

Nicole <3