Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In HardshipsSample

There are several people who have made a life-changing impact on my life just by watching how they handled major loss. Each gave God glory and honor through their incredibly heartbreaking journeys...journeys that were so difficult that many would have folded in defeat. The next few days, I'm going to share some of their amazing testimonies. The first person I'd like to share about is my friend Rob*. Rob was in a diving accident while he was in college. He became paralyzed from the neck down from diving into a hotel pool that was being drained. He had every reason to be angry and bitter, but he wasn't. He actually radiated joy, calm, and peace. Now I'm sure the joy and peace were not instantaneous...I know Rob had MANY challenging days the first few months after his accident...but Rob chose to find God's plan for his life. Instead of succumbing to anger from his extremely unfair circumstances, he drew close to God's heart and could sense that God wanted him to start a college ministry at his house. Dozens of college kids met at Rob's to attend Bible study every week and to worship...and many who attended are in full time ministry now. Before being good friends with Rob and attending his Bible study, I had very conflicting feelings towards God...I was not close to God at all due to experiencing a lot of grief and loss while growing up. Rob challenged me to read the Bible and to get to know God for myself. I took him up on that challenge and became a Christian as a result. I fell so in love with God through reading His Word with the motivation of getting to know Him for myself. The following year, after giving me that amazing challenge, Rob died after being in a car accident. My sister died a few weeks later. I am so grateful for Rob's challenge. It came at just the right time to help me through a very tough time in my life as I navigated through grieving his and my sister's deaths. I will never forget Rob and I will forever be grateful for his friendship. Rob shined for Christ in spite of his circumstances...and poured into my life and many others---even though his life was difficult. Rob always chose to develop his spirit in spite of his circumstances. I'll never forget what he always told my family and me..."I don't focus on what I CAN'T do, I focus on what I CAN do"...Rob also shared with me that he'd rather be in his wheelchair and be close to God than to not be in a wheelchair and never have truly known God and loved Him. Rob was actually grateful to be in a wheelchair because he felt that God used his tragedy and wheelchair as a way to be a loud "microphone" for God. How powerful is that? To be paralyzed and submit to God...and love God with all his heart...what a powerful testimony! ...And Rob's testimony is still loudly encouraging others many years later! Today, make the decision to focus on what you CAN do. Ask God to reveal His plans and purpose for your life. Even when we don't understand our broken circumstances, God can powerfully work in and through our lives to make something of great value. Today, choose to develop your spirit in spite of your circumstances.