Nothing is by accident with God By Bambi Lynn

We go through life never thinking that something bad is around the corner. We don't dream of heartache or brokenness. Never was that part of our pretend world as children. We had tea parties and dressed up our barbies to go out to parties. We played house with our baby dolls, we always talked nicely, we had the greatest pretend meals made and our babies never seemed to cry much, and daddies always came home and kissed mommy on the cheek. We believed in the picket fence because we never thought anything different could have happened.

There are times in our lives that take our breathe away. Heartache so deep that there are no words that can be spoken. When we first experience adulting, where there is no more pretending. I do believe that all of us can remember that moment that we realized, wow so this is real life. This isn't how it seemed when we played "house" This wasn't part of my pretending and does this happen in every family? We learn early on in this thing called life, to keep secrets, because who would believe us anyhow? Who would understand that we didn't get what we thought, and we thought we were the only ones living in that globe, looking at other people's lives and families thinking, they weren't going through what I am going through.

Life is like jumping out of a plane and knowing you are going to land but, you wish you didn't jump. Somehow you want to get back into that plane but, you keep going to you fall to the ground, they ask you, if you would like to do that again, you give them a look, like looks could kill and say, 'Hell No"

Life is like seeing how close you can get to an alligator before they start moving their eyes and you tell the person next to you to snap the picture before you become lunch.

Life is like stepping in horse manure because it's the only way you can get to the field where you get your food for the evening

Life is like holding one baby on your hip and the other is holding your other hand and your grabbing things off the shelves in the grocery store and your other child is on the ground screaming they want that candy and your too exhausted to say no or even care anymore.

Life is buying that white shirt and sticking it into your closest because you know the moment you pull it out to wear it, in ten minutes you have dropped something on it, so it sits in your closet untouched.

Life is getting on a ship and tripping over a step, so you fall into the boat instead

Life is a bunch of puzzles thrown on the floor, when putting the pieces together nothing looks familiar but, yet everything does, and you realize it's your life in the wrong box.

 We are not promised a life with no struggles, it doesn't matter whether we pretended all through our childhood. It doesn't matter whether we say things are going to be different in our lives than our parents. We will not go through this life without scars, scars are part of the life experience. We all will fall and no matter how many times we look at others and think they haven't fallen, you need to look closer, and you will see the scared knees. When something is worth fighting for you will get bruised, that's part of life.

I became a follower of Jesus at sixteen years old. A dramatic experience with a suicide attempt and a trip to a psychiatric children's center and an unplanned pregnancy. But I thought after that that life would flow and be full of butterflies and unicorns and a life of peace because I knew Jesus. Then real life began! I needed some real healing. I needed to see the world for what it was, Raw and not a respecter of person. I learned really fast that life isn't a straight line. I learned that in order to survive God had to step in. I had to allow him to be the anchor to my ship. I needed him for everything breathe I took. I learned really fast that when God steps in, it doesn't take away the storm but, he does calm it. I learned that there are valleys then mountains not the other way around. I learned that lemonade came from sour lemons, I learned really fast that he made a way where there seemed to be no way, and that he is my provider, and his children will not beg for bread.

One of my favorite books is "Hinds feet on high places" by Hannah Hurnard, this book is about a deer named much afraid, she is afraid of everything but, God takes her on a journey to find peace. She encounters so many obstacles. She encounters so many characters that their own purpose was to get her to detour away from the still small voice. As she continues to walk to the mountain she begins to trust in the still small voice and finds peace even with the loud noises around her. That is what is met that, God stepped in.The noise of life doesn't go away but, you begin to trust in his voice.

My other favorite book is "The Shack" written by William Paul Young. A story about a man that goes on a journey to find the love of poppa, this story starts off with a child that was kidnapped and brutally murdered by a serial killer. The father was on a camping trip with his children, and he could never forgive himself until he finds a letter in his mailbox, "come to the shack, Love Poppa" he is taken on a journey on how God sees life and this man is broken and then put back together again. Each person of the God head takes part in bringing this broken man to wholeness and to see that God had stepped in, just not the way he thought. A beautiful story of love and redemption.

I can look over my life and see when God stepped in, I reminisce sometimes and giggle as I remember seeing his hand move over my life. I look back and remember his provision from bills being paid, food in my freezer, peanut butter for a little girl, cars that were given to me and the random asks of kindness that had been showed to me and my children. The words that were spoken over me, that could only be God because no one knew my heart at those times. We think God doesn't step in but, he never steps out. I had a picture that was given to me as a gift from my friends. The picture was Jesus sitting on a hill and the verse under the picture was !st Timothy 2:5-6 where it talks about Jesus being a mediator, When I look at that picture, I always pictured Jesus resting to run up to heaven again saying, "God Bambi is asking again" He never stopped stepping in for me and Jesus never stopped going to the throne room on my behalf.

Do you have moments that God stepped in? Are there moments in your life that you felt God took too long but, then looking back he was right on time? Are there moments that you hoped for an immediate action and God had you wait because you had some growing to do? I love this statement, "and then God stepped in." but it does leave us thinking he has stepped out, when he never does. The poem, "The footprints in the sand" shows us that when we think he has left, he really is carrying us through that moment in our lives that we need support and needed to be carried because we couldn't walk anymore. He has always stepped in and will always be there no matter what

My challenge to you is look for those moments that you thought, He wasn't there and realize, like the Bible states, He will never leave you nor forsake you!! Believe it and walk in it today