God, I have An Exchange

Isaiah 61:3

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

This past Friday I had the opportunity to attend a women’s ministry at a church in Burlington, N.J.  It was a good night of fellowship with an awesome group of women.  The event, It’s a Girl Thing” consisted of a panel of women which covered topics such as Sex Trafficking, Self Esteem, Abuse, Beauty, Fitness, Health and Wellness. The event was over three hours long so I will highlight my top three favorite inspirational words of encouragement moments from the panel.

Balance- Discover what works for you. Stop comparing yourself to other women. Focus on the woman that you are and know that you have a purpose. Embrace the unique person that you are.

Confident-Be willing to encourage another sister.  It costs you nothing to complement or uplift another person. It  strengthens you as a person.  A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

Self Image- Young women who post nude pictures of their body on social media – You do not have to advertise value.  There are numerous advertisement/commercial of cars on the market, but when was the last time you seen an advertisement for a Bentley. It is in a class of its own and is considered to be priceless. A Bentley holds its value and cannot be marginalized.

My personal favorite speaker of the evening was a young woman from Burlington, NJ, Melissa Kulynych.  Her testimony of being raped at the age of 20 touched my heart and the hearts of those in the room. She was very open and candid as she revealed a place in heart God has healed.  Thank God for women who are willing to take off the mask and say this is who I am in Christ. For years Melissa never told anyone about the rape, not even God. In the shadow of shame she hid herself like a scar covering a nasty wound, as she put it. She chose to hide in the ashes of what was done to her. As she was conversing with her husband, who is a Pastor, something he said triggered the memory. She began to cry and he did not know what was going on. The rape was hidden from him as well. Praise God for godly husbands. From that moment on restoration and healing came through therapy, revealing the rape to her family, placing the blame back on the person who violated her and the support of her loving husband. As she nervously gave her testimony, the presence of the Lord filled the room. How I wish we could have waited on Him to do whatever, but the hour was late and another speaker was scheduled. Melissa ended her testimony by singing, “Good, Good Father”.

So often we choose to remain hidden in the ashes of something done to us or said about us simply because we find it easier to not deal with the pain and hurt. It’s our way of making it all go away too much to handle. But God, who is a Good, Good Father and perfect in all His ways, comes to us and waits for us even when we choose to hide ourselves. He was with you the very moment you experienced the pain and He is the one who kept you when you thought you could do it on your own. The plan of the enemy is to destroy you with what you have experienced. You may be bruised, battered or even broken, but because of Gods love for us and that He is a Good, Good Father and perfect in all of His ways, you will not be destroyed.

For Christmas and this coming year, I have decided to do an exchange with God. I am going to give Him all my ashes for His beauty. The ashes of my hurt, pain and rejection. The ashes of all my mistakes and short comings, so that He can make something beautiful out of my life.  How about you?

Good, Good Father