Getting Started...

I tend to find that just getting started is the hardest part. Anticipation and planning can go like clockwork, but it's taking that first step to actually start is the hardest. And I've found in my own life that usually that first step - the one that causes all the anxiety and trepidation - really does not live up to the expecation created by my own thoughts and imaginings.

So, here I am, starting my very own first blog. Hey, Gayle, welcome to the 21st century! Haha. So far, so good - probably because no one but me knows this is here. But I think the point of writing a blog is so that others can read it, get to know me, get to know my heart, and maybe, just maybe, be pointed towards a loving God and precious Savior as a result of what I share.

I've journaled for several years. I started shortly after I moved to Iowa, following my separation from my ex-husband. It was very helpful to me to be able to write down my thoughts, my prayers, my hopes and my fears. As I read back over some of those journal entries, I am amazed by the path that God led me on. So much of what I was going through back then makes more sense to me now. My hope is that someday, I'll be able to edit all of those entries into a book that will help other women go through the process of healing from brokenness to being "remade by the Potter's hand."

It was the passage in Jeremiah about the Potter and the clay that brought about my greatest healing. It was the image of being recreated - the past no longer being held against me - that really showed me what God's grace is all about. I am a new creation, once again made in the image of God. I have worth, I have value, and I have a purpose in God's kingdom. And my worth, value and purpose all point towards Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. As I strive to live my life in a way that brings Him honor and glory, I can only pray that He will use me to point others towards Him.

This morning, this song by Kathy Troccoli is going through my mind...

Life can be so good
Life can be so hard
Never knowing what each day
Will bring to where you are
Sometimes I forget
And sometimes I can't see
That whatever comes my way
You'll be with me

My life is in your hands
My heart is in your keeping
I'm never without love
Not when my future is with you
My life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands

Nothing is for sure
Nothing is for keeps
All I know is that your love
Will live eternally
So I will find my way, yes
And I will find my peace
Knowing that you'll meet my every need

My life is in your hands
My heart is in your keeping
I'm never without love
Not when my future is with you
My life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands

When I'm at my weakest love
You carry me
Then I become my strongest love
In your handsMy life is in your hands
And though I may not see clearly
I will lift my voice and sing
Cause your love does amazing things
Lord, I know, my life is in your hands
I trust you LordMy life is in your hands

David and I are expecting the unexpected to happen over the next several weeks and months. We are seeing God moving us to a new level...and we're not exactly sure where He is leading us yet. But we are excited to know that it is God who it leading. So we continue to pray for direction, peace and assurance as we take each step forward in faith. As it has been so interesting to go back and reread my journal entries from years ago, I look forward to going back and rereading my blog entries as time goes by to see where God has taken me.

Above all else, to His name be all the glory, now and forever more!