Never Give Up. Ever.

The vision of For the Girls International was born in the middle of one of the darkest times of my life.  At the time I didn't really know it was a vision.  It just seemed like an odd thought.  Very odd.  The depression was the result of some physical issues with my thyroid combined with a lot of emotional stress.

It was the year I was turning 40 and my oldest son was graduating high school and preparing to leave for college.   It sounds a little ridiculous to even write but I was just not ready for any of that. It seemed like one day he was my little boy and then poof ~ he was a young man and would be leaving me!  I wasn't ready to move into the phase of life where all my children were not sleeping safely under my roof.  I don't know what I thought "ready" would look or feel like, I just knew that I wasn't ready.  On top of that my grandfather who I loved dearly was dying. I was trying to be there for my grandmother and help walk her through the pain of losing her life and soul mate. It was a rough time. It didn't seem like enough to throw me into the darkness that I was in but in addition to the physical and emotional challenges of life there is always a spiritual element too.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us:
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

It is not a pleasant subject but it is a reality that we must be aware of.  We have a God that loves us and delivers us but we also have an enemy that hates us and wishes to destroy us. Our adversary is constantly on the prowl to see who he can kick while they are down.  He uses lies fired at our minds to try to convince us that God has forgotten about us or is not loving because He is allowing us to go through a valley experience.  But the truth is our enemy is powerless.  The truth is God is aware of every circumstance we are in and intends to use what we learn through those experiences to strengthen our faith.  We in turn can use those faith building experiences to encourage and influence those around us to have strength on their journey.  And so faith and strength multiplies through the hardest times of our life.  


We must be alert and realize that we have an enemy so that we don't fall prey to his lies and temptations.  Then we must rely on our Redeemer to rescue us and lift us out of the darkness as He promises that He will.  1 Peter 5:10 tells us:


"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

This sounds a little heavy for a Monday morning but praying that someone needed to hear it!  
The darkest hour is just before the dawn. NEVER GIVE UP!