Well, in all honesty, this summer was quite hard to live through. Despite this, I wouldn’t change anything even for a second. God had a lot that he wanted to show and teach me during this time. This is exactly what I prayed for.
Just before the summer break I started dating. I was certainly caught off-guard by this because I really didn’t expect it. Circumstances made it so the timing and everything was perfect (if you want the story behind it come find me). God had orchestrated everything. There was no way that it wasn’t him. He confirmed it to me in several different ways.
At the start of the summer, I was invited by my girlfriend’s parents to come see them for a week in BC. As I was traveling there, I caught a “superbug” virus that lasted eight weeks. Despite this, God kept my focus on him he wouldn’t let it ruin my visit (even if I was very sick the whole time I was there). Everything succeeded as God wanted it to. Things went just as well if not better, then if I was well. I thanked God for allowing me to be ill because it helped me to remain focused, and that it had helped people to see certain aspects of myself that would be less apparent if I wasn’t sick. God used my sickness for his purposes.
When I came back from my trip to BC I still didn’t have a job and I remained jobless for a long time. Things started to stack up and I had so much paper work that I needed to do. Still God told me to trust in him. One day I got an invitation from my parents to come home and find work. I also found out that my Dad had some construction stuff for me to do around the house. The thing that really caught me off-guard this time was that they also invited my girlfriend to come live with us, because there were some job openings for her. My family are all strong Christians. They would never ask unless they felt that it was the right thing for them to do. But I still needed confirmation from God that this is what he wanted. I told my girlfriend and we prayed about it for a few days. During this time my girlfriend’s mom said that it sounded like a great idea (her family were also strong Christians). We were not using this to determine what God’s will for our lives but, it certainly surprised us. During those few days of praying God brought me to some scripture. It was the verse about taking up a pledge if a widow was to stay at a man’s house. God also shown me other scriptures that confirmed that this is what he wanted me to do. We went to my parents place with God’s blessing. There were far too many flukes for it to not be God (on top of all the personal confirmation that he has given me).
As soon as we get there, we start making a contract (pledge) that determines the rules behind these special circumstances. We were to be sleeping on separate floors; we would only sleep at the house when my parents were present; and we were not aloud in each other’s rooms etc. My dad didn’t have very much work for me around the house so I looked in the city for work. Still, there was nothing. Even my girlfriend couldn’t find anything. Yet, every time just before we decided to leave, God would answer our prayers. We would pray to have an interview by a certain date (and other various things) and God would grant it right before the day came on every deadline. He wanted us to stay. Every interview we got never went through, so we had no idea what t do about work. Stuff with my dad really started to stack up so he offered both of us work (there wasn’t very much before). We worked until we moved out in mid August.
The time spent there was very hard. We had to face many trials and testing. God told me, “Ok, this is what I taught you, now show me what you have learned”. This summer was spent moving stuff that I had learned throughout the school year from my head to my heart. Despite all the difficulty that we faced, my girlfriend and I grew closer and closer everyday. The relationship was under God’s surveillance and he taught us how Christian relationships should be. The summer was particularly hard because my family was under enormous stress, and life at home as a result, was not pleasant. Again this helped my girlfriend and I to keep our focus on God.
Many times in life God calls us to do and face difficult things. This helps to train us for what God wants us to do in his will for our lives. God’s will isn’t always pleasant as most of us wish that it is. We are called to face many difficult things for him, and that we accept his discipline. Discipline doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ve done anything wrong but, what it does mean is that discipline trains. It trains us for what we have to face in the future within God’s will. I’ve been praying that God would keep me in the training grounds as long as I need it that I may do what he wills for my life. This summer was exactly that, and I’m glad for it. God is so good. I’m honoured that he is training me. In one of many ways it proves me to be one of his accepted sons. After all, what father doesn’t discipline his son whom he loves? That would be a terrible father. And what about the sons? What kind of son would I be to God if I refused his discipline? I would have grown up being directionless, and knowing nothing about life as it is. A person like that would grow up having no role model in his life, and grow up to be a hellion (even if he may not see it that way). That is why we aught to always be open to God’s discipline throughout life whether we want to hear it or not.
I made a bit of money this summer. God has honoured my prayers by constantly putting me into situations where I would be forced to rely on him. As a result I am relying on him more and more everyday. It is slowly being embedded into every fabric of my being. He has never let me down, nor will he ever. Following his will for my life has always been rewarding, and looking back I am always glad that he has graciously allowed me to face everything in my life as it was. These difficult things have been a blessing to me, and will always be a blessing. I am very honoured that God would even consider me worthy of facing what I have in my life. A life surrendered to God is an adventure… an adventure that I will never want to miss no-matter what the alternative. I can hardly wait to see what the future has in store! After all, who else would know how one can live life to the fullest other then the creator of life itself?
Which verse are you referring to that mentions making a pledge if a widow is to stay in a man's house?
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