What a blessing it is

Over the past couple weeks I feel that I have spread myself thin with planning a wedding, having a wedding, working full time, and taking an extra class on top of it all. Probably not my best decision to put all of that together at the same time, but man what a blessing it is to be spread so thin. Now this might sound like an oxymoron, and it probably is, but the point I’m trying to make here is that when we have so much on top of our plate you have such a wonderful space to glorify God. It might not all be great things on your plate: bills, kids, jobs, cooking, cleaning, caring for others; however, it can all be glorifying. When the going gets tough, who do you magnify? Casey and I went on our honeymoon cruise last week and the amount of people with 4 kids or more is kind of astonishing. You would think of course they’re ready to pull their hair out, but the smiles on their faces was the only thing that I saw. In this case you could clearly see that they were spread thin, but their joy overpowered everything else. Even in the midst of illness or tragedy I feel like some of the most joyous people are those who finally see what is truly meaningful in life: eternity.

I am currently training to a new position at work and I think it goes without saying that the more you have to learn the more frazzled you can be. That being said, I think that this is my ministry, the place where I’m spread so thin I can’t think of my next move. I choose to worship my Savior because my spread thin is nothing compared to His. I’m not saying that I do this all of the time because there are plenty of points where I hit rock bottom and think “why did I wait so long to ask Him for help?”. I know plenty of us get caught in this situation but it doesn’t always have to be I need to be at my lowest and then God can help me. He is always near to those in need, even when you are overwhelmed. One of the most well known Bible verses, Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” but this isn’t talking about getting everything that you want. We’re all going to experience the hard times but it’s going to be okay because we can get through it all through Him. So we worship regardless of our circumstances. We worship because we love Him and He loves us. We worship because He paid it all for us. This is what is means to have a mindset of eternity. To pray without ceasing and to love those around you. 

Now this might be a little bit short for a blog post but the message is simple. Love God despite your circumstances, glorify Him despite your circumstances, the spread thin is the opportunity for the gospel to be spread. The lowest point for you can be the biggest testimony for others. Know that I am praying for you always. 

May the peace and love of God be with you always,

Leah Carpenter Hagaman