The Broken Road

This morning I got to thinking about how easy it is to keep my head low, complete with sinking emotions as I consider the past that sometimes won't stay in the past. Some people struggle with their past as it relates to their own sinful actions toward others but I manage to dredge back up the wrongs done to me. My poor, broken road. But does ANYBODY have an UNbroken road? I guess there are a few. But looking around and taking stock at my friendships, un-broken roads appear to be very rare. And my very own savior had the most broken road one can have and He CHOSE it. I will come down this path again, I know it. The path of self-pity. But today I am remembering and rejoicing that the broken path has made me into the woman I am. I know what it is to feel pain and rejection by those whom I love anyway. The grace of God gives this to me and I am so grateful! My pain and rejection help me to feel the pain and rejection of others, just as it has been ordained by my Lord. And the real truth is that somehow, in some way, I am being more and more transformed into the likeness of Christ. I know this truth because "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:28-30 Oh, Lord, help me to raise my head and forge ahead into the mission field. I cannot serve you or fight while I sit crumpled in a heap over the past.