• Welcome!
  • Me
    • My Hope
  • My Books
  • Thoughts . .

cherylriesauthor

cherylriesauthor

Tag Archives: Grace

Getting Close

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

God, Grace, Learning

Getting Close

When I lost my dad, it was the worst thing yet to happen in my life. I went through months of grieving, anger being the strongest emotional reaction to the feeling of loss I had. I spent many hours dealing with healing, and in that time, I had to learn again why I believed what I believed, as for a while, I couldn’t believe in anything!    The hardest period of my life was living without believing, feeling so much pain and anger with God for taking my dad away, that I had trouble releasing that anger just to allow myself time to move through the stages of grief. I was changed in that time, into someone who doubted things, but through that doubt, I learned the most important thing I have ever learned, that I do believe in God, I know Christ died for my forgiveness, giving me eternal life, and that my dad’s death wasn’t a punishment He gave to me for something I had done in my life.   

Losing my dad actually gave me the ideal reason to re-examine my faith at the very core . . I had to, it was completely shaken to my core! I had nothing to do but to test my beliefs, asking many questions, learning how to heal, growing closer to God and becoming a greater believer in the process! The worst thing that has ever happened to me, also helped to make me a much stronger person, forcing me to learn to adapt, giving me reason to explore and examine my faith, and allowing me to find God again, in a relationship which has grown more intimate each and every day!    Through loss and the ensuing grief, I turned heartache into the most rewarding way to develop my faith to a whole new level! I learned through it what spiritual maturity is, why it mattered and how to rely on God for everything each day! I took anger at God and turned it to constant love, even realizing that sometimes God’s actions are not comfortable, do not make me happy, and can even hurt! Sometimes, I have to accept what God does, even though it is painful, for it is a part of life and a part of our process of living a faith-based life! I matured into the person who accepts God’s will in my life, knowing that bad things will happen, but He will always see me through those times!   

I can honestly say that it was in the ultimate   trial that I learned how to let my spirit soar! Without the breaking, without all my anger at Him, I wouldn’t know how deeply I love God, how much I need Him and how much love can live on even after someone leaves. I am so much stronger, better and more mature spiritually because I went through something which could have broken me for good! Instead, I let Him lead me through all my pain, heal my heart and help me see that it does pass, and soon, we are able to stand up to even more challenges in our lives as a result! God helps us through the bad times, knowing that we become better people just by going through them! He gives us His grace and strength sufficient for each day, knowing that with faith, we will come to rely on His new daily dose of grace again tomorrow!    I’m not happy to have lost my dad so early in life, nor anyone I love, but I can say that I have   learned how to take something which was devastating and make it into something with a positive impact upon my spirit, after some time, by asking for God’s abundant grace and love! Through Him all things are possible!

Angel On My Shoulder

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Angels, angels, God, Grace, heaven

Angel On My Shoulder

I am aware that there are angels amongst us . . . those of divine form, and those of human flesh, performing their functions sometimes unaware of their role in influencing our lives.  They are also angels, those without wings, those who live amongst us and take human form, able to show up and be there just when they are needed.  Accidental you ask?  No, I think not.  I am sure of God’s grace in this as well.  For when we but only take notice, there are many instances of prophetic intervention, when those we love, those we know, and those we have never met before somehow intervene on our behalf, thus making our lives’ journeys take new shape, venture onto new pathways, or veer onto the correct course after all.

Angels are all around us really, those from Heaven and those whose origin was born in heaven . . earthly angels.  Have you ever felt that someone came into your day to alter the course of it in some dramatic or profound way?  Have you ever met up with someone in some momentary situation, which in fact made such an impact upon you, that it caused you to alter your direction or amend your behavior?  Have you ever felt placed prophetically or purposefully in a way that your role was obviously designed to be shaped or formed just to be influential to another person’s life?  Or perhaps their’s in your’s?  In other words, have you felt destined, or designed to be somewhere at a particular time whereby your presence made an impact upon another person, seemingly like a miracle, or providence, or at least life-altering?  Or maybe that has been the case for you with another person in your life, they’ve walked through your day, a relative stranger even, who altered your circumstances just by you taking notice of them and their contributions.

It is often what I’ve noticed and label the hand of God at work.  I truly believe He graces us with benevolent interactions with others which can and do impact our lives, if we choose to witness those events.  Sometimes it is merely the idea of seeing the action before us to know that God is helping us through another human’s involvement in our life.    <span>How and why does God interweave our actions this way, even with perfect strangers?  Well, I suppose it is usually to teach us something profound.  I have found incredible people to bond with in life, even over mere fractions of time, just by speaking in a few moments over a joint purposeful activity in common.  Meeting in a doctor’s lobby, a grocery clerk who has a similar experience, being drawn to someone who turns out to know a good friend, finding out that your family will help you out of a bad situation, someone who finds something precious you lost.

Angels are people we know and love, as well as complete strangers who just happen to find their way into our day-to-day lives for a reason.  We might not even understand the reason when we meet or have our connection with someone, but eventually, a shaping and change because of the connection does occur.  It’s inevitable!  I remember the woman I spoke of in this blog a few days ago . . I met her in the waiting room while doing some scary health-related tests.  She was familiar with what I was feeling, but in her being there to share the space with me, she was a calming and comforting witness to not fearing the unknown, even though she knew it well.  I will never forget her, even though I have no idea who she is . . she just showed up that day to change that moment of the day!  She was my earth angel in that situation.  I’ve probably had too many to count in my lifetime, those I would recognize as the special people God enlists to help me in little or big ways.  It might be a compliment given at just the right time, a friend coming around to visit when necessary, family supporting a decision which was difficult to make . . it could be anything really.  The common thing I notice is the feeling I get, the sense of purposeful interaction, as though I must notice, I’m called to witness the blessing.

Perhaps the event lasts a minute fraction of time, but in that moment, I am given the chance to evolve into a better version of me.  It’s God’s purposeful growth formula, earth-angel supplements!  He gives them out freely and it is merely up to us to take notice of them!

Meta

  • Create account
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Archives

  • September 2024
  • February 2021
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • September 2012
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
Follow cherylriesauthor on WordPress.com

Blog Stats

  • 6,203 hits

Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • cherylriesauthor
    • Join 109 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • cherylriesauthor
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...