"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

The past month has been full of "long days".  Almost every day has left me feeling completely spent. Though my days are always jam packed, the springtime is always faithful to bring a heightened sense of everything. In fact, come March of each year I start to mentally prepare myself for the next few months. With this said, I come to you late in the evening, very tired in my physical body, but knowing all day that this post was inside of my heart and on the way. I know there are some who need it. I know you need it.

I do not presume that my words are just what another may need, but I know that I have a burden from God above to write, to edify, to encourage and to exhort the hearts of others. Especially so to those who are weary, burdened and broken of heart...hurting in their hearts. This post is for those who struggle to keep the vision, those who are on a quest for clarity, those who have unanswered prayers and many questions of "why?" floating about in their minds.

It's funny to me how many times the very thing we know we are purposed to do are the very areas we meet the greatest adversity. I imagine in my mind the Lord looking upon me, encouraging me, and asking all at the same time, "How badly do you want to follow me and do all that I have put your hand to do? Push through, Nicole, push through." Then, I encourage myself, push myself, coach myself.  I push, I press, I overcome. Then a new day comes and I begin this process all over again. As I etch these very thoughts across the page, I am thinking specifically of my own occasional, "why?", but then God faithfully helps me decide to stay the coarse. Take my writing, for example, I know what I am to do; Write and write a lot. Devotions, books, blogs, and encouraging words and affirmations on my facebook and twitter posts. I've even found a way to encourage through instagram. Any vehicle the Lord offers for me to share His love and Voice to those who don't know where to look for the answer to their hurts or their own "why?". So, I shouldn't really ask why when I meet tremendous opposition to my efforts to write. I have the usual obstacles: children, work, schedules, etc. but I have passed these tests with relative ease. So, deeper oppositions have come against me. I have been experiencing extreme technical difficulties. In fact, I am only able to write this because a dear and faithful friend has been sharing her laptop with me. My desktop keeps crashing. Then there is my phone, which is where I must do most of my social media posting. It survives by prayer alone I think! Because of other obligations I cannot just go buy new ones right now. I am forced to trust the Lord and wait for His provision. He always does, so I am not worried. It is an opportunity for me to demonstrate to God how much I love him by continuing to try. He shows His faithfulness back to me in ways He knows I need. As an encourager, I have deep appreciation for encouraging words myself. In fact, words of affirmation is my primary love language. So, to hear something encouraging is such a key to my heart, and God knows this. There are times when I get tired and discouraged and think, "maybe I just won't write for others any more, just journal and write for myself instead." Then, I will have within hours it seems, someone contact me and tell me how a certain blog came right at the perfect time, or how my writing encourages them daily, they look each day to my facebook page for support and encouragement. Most of the time these words come from folks I had no idea even read my stuff! Then, my heart smiles and I thank God and I persist to try to be his supplemental strength for others. I love it! It is what I was born to do!

Perhaps you are in a situation or season of life where a "why?" is appropriate to describe your heart or circumstance? I'd like to direct this for you and encourage you for a moment with my simple offering of wisdom.

You C.A.N.

• C=Commit all things to God .
• A=All can be accomplished through Him.
• N=Nothing is impossible for those who Believe.

Do you believe how much God loves you, is for you, and is on your side? If you truly believe this then lean on Him a little harder. Trust Him a little more deeply. You may not have crystal clear vision of the possibilities or what He is up to in your life or situation, but He can see it all quite clearly and He is working behind the scenes to take care of everything. Then, on the other side of fear...the other side of worry....the other side of uncertainty, you will arrive. You will be stronger, wiser, and better than you every thought obtainable. He is just helping you tap into your "inner awesome". Because you are! Amazing and awesome...created by God and are dearly loved by God. Sometimes He shows His love for us in ways we don't understand. Let me tell a simple story to help illustrate my point.

Several years ago I knew a woman who was a single woman and she was in need of a car. She prayed and prayed for God to provide a car, but no car came for quite a long time. In the meantime, she rode her bike everywhere. This was fine, inconvenient, but fine for a long time. Until winter came. Then, I saw her one day out riding to her destination and it was about to rain. I began to pray and ask God, "why?" I wondered why God would make her ride her bike so long and not somehow bring better transportation to her? Then, like a download right into my head, I feel I got an answer, an idea, I hadn't ever thought of before. See, this woman had some health issues and severe edema in her lower legs was one of them. Her legs were so swollen with edema that you couldn't discern her knee from her shin from her ankle. They were all the same size. So, it occurred to me...all of that bike riding was excellent for her circulation! I believe, though she was inconvenienced and didn't know why she had to ride a bike, God was working it all out for her good because he was blessing her health! It may never be known the depth of the blessing the bike riding was in her life. I guess the key is to find the blessing and Joy and opportunity to grow in every situation or uncomfortable event. This too is possible.

One last example of possibility thinking for you tonight and it's found with the bumble bee. Did you know that a bumble bee is aerodynamically designed with a big body and small wings? Laws of physics say he shouldn't be able to fly. The bumble bee doesn't know that the "facts" point to "impossible" ... so he flies anyway. If he can, so can you. It is all a matter of perspective.

Be blessed. Be hungry for the deeper things of God. He is there, waiting for you. He wants to take you to places in your own possibilities that you have never seen or even dreamed. He will take you higher, just like that bee. All you must do is trust and Believe.

~Nicole