A dear friend of mine from another state gave me her testimony. She printed copies of it to share with others in the hopes that sharing her painful story would help others who are hurting too. It's such an amazing, beautiful testimony that I asked her if she'd like me to share it on my blog, and she said yes. So here it is, in Renee's own words. I hope you find encouragement in it like I do.:
[This is similar to #1 ("Let go"), but a little more specific.]
Throughout our lives, we will find ourselves being pruned over and over again as God continues to weed out anything that doesn’t bring Him glory, doesn't fit His purposes for our life during the season we are in, and isn’t for our best. And this isn’t always easy. In fact, it seldom is.
We like things to be our way. We like having the control, following our own wisdom, relying on ourselves and our strength, holding onto the things we want.
Well, we like it until we see what a mess we've made of things... and then we cry "O God, why did You let this happen!?!"
But God wants more for us. And He's got not just the here-and-now in mind, but also eternity, the things that will last. And in order to help us have the best - the best eternities, the best now, the best relationships, the best Christian witness - He needs to prune us of the things that get in the way, that work against us, that hold us back, that dishonor Him. And we need to let Him.