Good
morning church, my name is Victoria Godfrey, and I am a senior at Patuxent High
School.
I would like to start off by reading a poem I wrote:
There Was a Day
There was a day before you began
Before the wind could blow your hair,
Before you could scrape your knee on the sidewalk
The pavement was black- and without concern of your care
A time before the hospital took your heart beat
And recorded it to get lost in files
God knew you before your parents could
He hid you away my child
All before the world could bend you
And try to make you its own
God knew the number of breaths you would breathe
And to Him He knows alone
When the leaves fall without your consent
And the day turns to night with little warning,
Your Father up in Heaven loves you
And always knew you were coming
Though it is not about you
It is special to think
The freedom of living in peace,
Because you and I struggle with numbering our days-
But it is not our plan He keeps.
Over the past year and a half, I have had joys and sorrows, testing of my faith, and the gift of seeing God’s working hand. For all of us this past year was not what we were planning, but God knew it was coming and for the believer He does not let trials go to waste (Romans 8:28). We do not get to pick and choose all the events that will come our way in life, we do not get to return an upcoming week to God and say, “yeah I'm just not feeling that." God keeps His plan- not ours, and I praise God that He knows so much better than me and uses my trials for good.
During Covid-19 I have been blessed with making many more friends who have supported me in my faith and cared for me. I've been blessed by being invited to Bible study and hangouts with people God has put into my life. But along with those blessings this time has been filled with pain.
I'm sure you will be able to relate to some things on my list:
Loss of loved ones, as my grandma passed away
Feelings of rejection
Mental health
Stress about college and a way to pay for it
Fear of getting sick
Your list and my list could continue, but with our well-rehearsed list of stresses, and complications, disappointments, and discontentment, God is further equipping us for the work he has planned for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Our understanding of pain can help other believers and nonbelievers. Though no one will ever fully understand another's pain, going through hard times can help us see how to help others better, and in turn, be a light and more like Jesus to those around us.
Another thing we should do is count our blessings:
Count your blessings name them one by one
count your blessings see what God has done
count your blessing name them one by one
count your many blessings see what God has done.
(Johnson Oatman Jr. music by Edwin O. Excell)
Isaiah 43:18-19 says “But the Lord says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already - you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”
Let us make it a habit; every day to thank God for 5 blessings in our lives. And if we are having a hard time counting to 5 or are sad, make that list 10. It can be as simple as thanking God for money to pay the electricity bill, or as big as God sending His one and only son to die for each of us.
I would like to close with another poem I wrote:
The Things You Shouldn’t Forget
The ungrateful heart turns to bitter storage
Of draining, hopeless glee
Only wanting what you think is better,
But forgetting how to see
You forgot about the nighttime drives-
For peaceful silence they succumb,
The way the water sparkles
from the fossette as it runs,
The way your child's hand
still fits lovingly in yours,
The friend ready to go on a walk
Waiting at your door.
So, with grateful hearts in pain will show
A deeper love for God,
Because it is easy to be thankful when things are good
But just as important when things are not.
Praise God for blessings in difficult times!
Amen
