What would you say to encourage someone's LIFE?

When I was in my 20's, I thought 40+ was sooo old.    My plan for life would be a good one to make it easy.   My friends had similar plans, too.  The plan looked like:  go to school, get good grades so I could get a good job, work hard to climb up the ladder of good job, get married, have kids, have a great marriage and a great career.   This is life on Easy Street. 

Today, I'm in my 40's and just living.   I'm still looking for Easy Street, but I think it got washed away into a ditch.    So, I'm on this road called LIFE.   There have been pit stops and 'learning opportunities.'  Often times, I've said, "I didn't go to school for THIS!"   LIFE doesn't like to follow textbooks. 

I have a friend whose LIFE isn't going according to plan.   She lives with obstacles and sometimes limited choices.  Her LIFE is truly just living it one day at a time.    I have run out of encouraging words for her and simply just listen to her story and circumstances that move at glacial speed.    My prayers seem to have hit a rut.

So you ladies who have LIVED and discovered that LIFE can be a challenge whether through your own experiences or just walking it with your mom, sister, or friend, what are words of encouragement would you give or were given to you?   Was it a Bible verse, a quote, or a saying?   Please leave a comment so that I can share with my friend so she knows she's not alone on this road:  LIFE.  

Gratefully,
MooWoo


  


 

I'm a Church Fly

"See?  It WAS fun!!" my friend laughed at me when I gave her my positive conclusion of tonight's evening.

 

The previous day I asked her to pray for my bad attitude stemming from pressure and panic of folding a hundred pieces of paper into origami flowers for a church dinner the next day.   "Are paper cuts and glue gun burns really a God assignment?"  I texted her.

 

Inspite of my injuries, the evening was fun and a great time to hang out with girlfriends. My friend and I talked underneath the parking lot light afterwards to catch up and laughed about how 24 hours could change someone's attitude from bad to good.

 

Months had gone by without a good chat with each other - different kids' schedules, church schedules, and life, in general, just interrupting.    So there we were in the parking lot and talked and talked.

 

But, it was here that I realized that if you step up with your sisters in Christ to God's table, He doubles the portion of grace in your life that comes from fellowship with these women.   What was sour is now sweet.   What seemed horrible is now pretty funny.   Paper transforms into flowers.  The black night is brightened by light-hearted conversation.

 

The hour was getting late and sleep time was slipping away before it would blur into a day full of activities and errands and carpools.  We left with the hope to meet up next week.   

 

I pulled out and rounded the corner to the darkened front of the church.   No lights were on inside.  No cars in the front parking lot.   The pastor's wife, women's ministry director, and all the other guests had left long ago.

 

That's when I realized with a chuckle that I had closed down a church, but never had closed down a bar.     

 

And that is a wonderful gift that comes from Table Grace.