Inspirational: Don’t get bitter, get better
by Paulette Harper
Ruth 1:20-22 (Amplified Bible)
And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?
If you have never read this story, here we have a woman whose life was drastically changed. First, she and her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons left Bethlehem because of a severe famine. Looking for a better life, they journeyed to Moab. While in Moab, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, dies, and ten years later, her two sons die, leaving her to care for her two daughters-in-law. Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, but upon returning she has no husband or sons, instead a bitter heart.
I can’t recall how many times I have read this passage of scripture and each time God would speak to my heart. I believe all the scriptures are written to teach us valuable lessons that will be taught through life’s experiences. I had no idea the one day I hade to practice applying this principle to my life.
Just as Naomi did not understand why God had chosen to take her through one of the most challenging experiences in life, I pondered as well. Just like a child growing up in life you have expectation and plans that usually don’t include bruises and bumps in the road. But I found that even when the unexpected things in life do occur, God has a plan and purpose to make something good out of the worse situations.
At 42 years of age I found hope, encouragement and a renewed spirit while going through a divorce. Although my plight was not one in which I welcomed or embraced I had to accept that this part of my life God had already known about before the foundation of the world.
He was taking me through one of the most unpleasant times in my life but I had to trust that the one in which I had given my life to knew exactly what was best for me and there was something about my life that He was going to reveal and what I had faced and conquered was really going to alter my life forever.
I had one choice to make either I was going to allow myself to be bitter with what He had allowed to happen or I was going to let the situation develop and make me into a better person, I decided to use the situation to make me better.
God was using my situation to bring me to a place of maturity, confidence and total dependency on Him. I learned not to look at my current condition although quite hard at times but I had to realize that some day God would show me why He had chosen me to carry this particular cross. A lot of things we go through in life are not for us at all but it’s for someone else, who is in need of encouragement, help and support.
The bigger picture
There was a bigger picture that God had for my life, a picture that was revealed at the beginning of 2007. God wanted me to begin telling people what He had did for me during my ordeal and How He carried me through the rages of life. How would God want me to do that’s? Since I was already a minister and speaking was part of my life how was I going to carry out this mandate from God? God didn’t take long to reveal how He wanted me to accomplish that and it was through writing. He has expanded my ministry to include writing about my own personal experiences. My book “That was then, this is now this broken vessel restored” (Tate Publishing & Enterprises, May 2008) was birth from my pain and no tear was shed in vain.
A 152 page turner, It is my own personal story of deception, heartache and ultimate triumph. In my book That was then, this is now Paulette take’s you on a journey from beginning to end with the stages in which God allowed her to take while going through this painful experience.
In 10 chapters I masterfully uncover the hidden obstacles I faces as the “first lady” and how I eventually broke through those barriers.
So many times I wanted to give up, throw in the towel and quit but something inside me would not let me. Gods’ spirit was constantly bringing comfort to me, guiding me and assuring me that everything was going to work out for my good.
Romans 8:28 (Amplified Bible)
We are assured and know that ]God being a partner in their labor all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.
I encourage you this day. Even when it appears that things don’t always go according to our plans, God plans are better. Choose to let the disappointments in life make you into a better person. Don’t allow your heart to become bitter with was has happened, embrace the changes, embrace the new things, embrace the season of new beginnings.
Written by Paulette Harper. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
What are your thoughts on this article? Leave your questions or comments below.
Thank you,
Ella Curry, EDC Creations
http://www.edc-creations.com/
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Paulette Harper is an emerging Christian Author making her debut with her first inspirational book “That Was Then, This Is Now, This Broken Vessel Restored”, a compelling story of deception, heart-ache and ultimate victory. In 10 chapters I masterfully uncover the hidden obstacles I faces as the “first lady” and how I eventually broke through those barriers.A native of Pittsburg, Ca, Paulette travels as an Inspirational speaker teaching people how to overcome life’s unexpected experiences by delivering a strong message of hope.
Beyond her writing ability she has a passion to lead people to a clear and precise understanding of how life challenges can become one’s ultimate source of victory by sharing solid, biblical principles that will enable people to find a way out of every trial so they can reach their God given potential.
Paulette has been featured in EDC Creations' Black Pearls Magazine, Grace and Mercy Magazine, WOW Magazine and will be featured in Inspired Women, Mentoring Moments and EKG Literary Magazine.
She has been interviewed live on Channel 26, Gospel Search TV, San Francisco Radio Station KPOO, Artistfirst Radio Station, Access TV Channel 29 San Francisco.
Her online articles can be found in aakulturezone.com, Urban Christian Fiction, Victorious Café, and Christian Women on line.
Paulette resides in Northern California and is a member of NewBirth Church in Pittsburg under the leadership of Pastor Carl Smith.
To schedule Paulette Harper for a book club meeting, interview, book signing, speaking engagement, workshop, seminar, or other appearance, please contact her at paulet_harper@yahoo.com
For more information about "That Was Then, This Is Now" visit: http://www.bvministry.org/
