A Reminder

Hey, Readers, I've had quite a year. Can you relate? I'm sure many of you can.

My part time job in the school system was taxing because the teacher I was working with had some family issues. She ended up retiring at Christmas. Ugh. Now who would they get to replace her?

Stress.

Then the publisher I worked with as an acquiring editor announced the doors would have to close.

Additional stress.

My mother was facing back surgery coming in January.

Yikes.

Something I didn't know - stress can cause some illnesses. I was awakened one night with a sudden pain in my left ear. It felt like someone had stabbed it with an ice pick. I had some swelling on that side and knew I better get to the doctor. I must have let it go too long and I had a bad infection. My doctor shook her head and announced: You have shingles.

What? No time for that.

As I stuffed in the strong meds for shingles, I started crying out to God - What are You doing? What is this?

I'm happy to report that the replacement teacher turned out to be a great fit. Another larger publisher acquired the imprints and editors from the closed publisher. The new publisher even turned out to be the one that published my first book. My mother did great with her surgery. She's tough. And I got through the shingles outbreak.

Recently I heard a song that perfectly expresses this time in  my life and what I learned. Please take a moment to listen and let the lyrics sink in. I'm sure there's someone else that might need to hear this message and hold on because this is gonna make you stronger. Let God use everything. There's nothing He can't use to make you stronger and teach you things.

Click here to listen to Mandisa's song, Stronger

Can you relate to the message in this song? Share in the comments.