Dottie Johnson’s story is one of God’s grace and His ability to turn brokenness into blessings! In a blended family, Dottie and her husband George just celebrated 21 years of marriage. They have six children and seven grandchildren. Together with George, Dottie serves the Christian Evangelistic Association, working with new churches in the Pacific Northwest.
Thankful? Some days I feel anything but. Days when I have more worries than hope. More unknowns than knowns. More heartaches than happiness. More wrongs than rights. And I’m supposed to be thankful for those days?
Stuff happens. Bad stuff happens . . . to me . . . to my family . . . to people I love. Lots of people want to explain the theological side of why bad things happen to good people but I could really care less about their reasoning. This is what I know: that when I walk through the darkest of days I do not walk alone. I can feel God’s presence. When my heart breaks so much I can hardly breathe – He gives me a breath, then another, and another. When I cry, He holds me tight.
If given a choice, I would naturally choose to have no pain, no worries, no troubles. But I am learning that there is a place for pain – a place for the storms in my life and the lives of those I love. I choose to let God lift my heaviness and absorb the brokenness. To step out into a place called faith – where I believe God is using all things for His glory. I believe that God is not only holding me through the storms but refining me, strengthening me and walking closer to me.
And for this I am truly thankful!
BIO:
Thank you for these words.....truly beautiful
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