Unfinished business...

One of the suggestions our commanders wife gave us while the guys are gone, is to set goals for ourselves. I started thinking about things that I have left unfinished. The first thing that came to mind was completing the book, The Purpose Driven Life. This book was given to me years ago by a friend during one of the most difficult times in my life. I have been halfway through it for years now and finally dug it out of our collection of books and brought it home with me to start soul searching a bit.

Whenever I have more time on my hands, which lets face it, isn't often, I find it refreshing to work on myself. The last time I did this I was looking for answers on how to be a better person and growing into the person I want to become. Ironically, it is still what I am searching for. I believe it is important to continue working on ourselves and character building throughout the course of our busy, hectic, and sometimes crazy lives.

Last night I began where I left off, Chapter 25: Transformed by Trouble. This really hit home for me. Lately my prayer list seems to be growing and I have more questions than ever on why such saddening, hurtful and devastating things are happening in this world.

As I began reading, a verse from the bible that stuck with me was this, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." How true this is when I look back on the years behind me. Most of my growth as a person, as well as a Christ follower, has been at the most desperate times in my life. A quote from the author says this, "It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers." I remember a few years back when all I wanted to do was dig a hole and hide away from the weight of my problems. I began using prayer as a daily part of my life and opening myself up for growth. I remember praying for a new start and for forgiveness of so many things, but most of all giving up the reigns and putting my life in his hands. Praying was my safe haven and it became a huge part of my daily life. The author says, "What happens outwardly in your life is not as important as what happens inside you. Your circumstances are temporary but your character will last forever."

"Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems. The Bible says Jesus "learned through suffering, why would God exempt us from what he allowed his own Son to experience?"

A long post I know, but A Purpose Driven Life is powerful read if you are looking for something to really challenge you to look within and find yourself.