Win the Battle Because the War is Won

This is going to be a little different from some of the other things I've written in the past, but I wanted to be open and real about what is undoubtedly the most important thing in my life. Yes, this post is about my kids and I, but no, they are not the most important thing in my life. They are a solid second place. First place belongs to God, and God alone.
For those of you who will bear with me, let me explain...

I consider myself a Follower of Jesus, and I have been pursuing to live as God instructed in the Bible, which I believe to be complete and true. I mess up every single day, and God is merciful and graceful with me- every single day. But I have found through my truly meager studying and practice of following after Him, that regardless of whatever it is that I am going through, I can be at peace and full of joy in God. I can trust Him fully because He is faithful, which is proven over and over, not only in the Bible, but also in my life. This evolution and transformative process that has been ongoing is something that is pleasing and  delightful to God, but it is detestable to the Evil One.

Whether you believe this or not, there is a cosmic spiritual war being waged for the most precious things on earth-- souls. And Satan, Devil, Beelzebub, Lucifer- whatever you want to call him- is the prince of darkness and lies and deceit. He will do anything--Anything-- to keep souls from God.
For me, I know how the cosmic spiritual war ends. Light triumphs over dark, good over evil, and Jesus is Lord of All. But it is only a happy ending for those who have chosen the light. And even though I am a Child of God and I can be confident on which side I will stand at the end of the battle, there is still a battle going on in every day.

Which brings me to this week.
This week my church (Compass Christian Church in Chandler AZ) was kicking off our new program Rooted, a program designed to deepen the roots of the followers there. We were warned that when we joined this program, we were probably going to be spiritually attacked, which could present in any number of ways. I felt ready, since I have had major struggles with my health and caring for my kids over the last 2 years- more than anything, I was excited for the program to start.

The first thing took me a little by surprise, but it didn't really even register as an attack to me. I took 2 of my kids to the pulmonologist, and much to my surprise, their lung functions were both down. Thankfully neither one of them were sick, we were fortunate to find the decreased function before it got worse. The next day, I discovered that one of my doctors has not been documenting properly the issues that I have going on, which directly impacts my disability payments as well as potential treatment approval. Finally, I brought one of the kids to the doctor and discovered several major life changing diagnoses. This one was certainly the most pointed attack, as it definitely felt like a kick to the stomach. But I stood back up and chose to continue praising God and trusting Him.
My child will have lifelong struggles and complications, and life altering decisions... for that, I feel a fleeting heaviness and burden. But God loves my child more than I do. I trust that God will continue to take care of us. And I will continue fighting.

I should be filled with worry and discouraged by this week.
I am at peace and full of joy in the Lord.





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