Questions for my Questions

When we went out to visit Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in May 2010, we had the opportunity to speak directly with Kim Meeder (one of the Founders) about our own hopes and dreams and what we believed God was asking us to do.  I specifically remember being an emotional mess.  I was standing at the “Ranch of Rescued Dreams” and saw the physical representation of what had been in my heart for so long.  There was so much joy in knowing that the vision was actually possible, yet there was also pain in realizing our own reality was still so far off.  I broke down even further when she quietly and confidently shared, “I believe God wants me to tell you: ‘Get ready.’”  She said God was going to do something great through us and that she couldn’t wait to see it happen.  Because I couldn’t see it all yet, and wasn’t sure it would all ever unfold at that point, Kim shared some much needed wisdom with me.  When going through rough times and spiritual attacks, Kim has a habit of asking herself the following questions:

Does God know about this?

Has God allowed this?

What does He want me to learn through this process?

Am I going to allow Him to shape me and step up in faith and trust Him through it?

Along with those four questions, Kim finally shared: “He’s already won every battle we’ve faced, and our job is to live like that is true.”

Looking back, I am so glad Kim took the time to share those questions with us, because I have turned to them many times when I felt like my heart was breaking.  I also can see that those dry times were opportunities for God to teach me, mold me, and shape my character.  Sometimes those hard patches are full of the stuff that can make us ready to be used by Him when His timing meets up with our obedience.  “God doesn’t promise us a perfect life, but He does offer us perfect peace.”