perspective

at one point in the previous week, when i was feeling especially down (those of you who have taken the prep classes for your internship as I did would refer to this as the bottom of the U-curve) I had the brilliant idea of reading the book of Job. This was the point when my face had exploded with a bright red rash from the thing I either touched or ate that contained something I was allergic to and I was far from home, well I still am, but I was feeling it much more so. The children were at school and I was seemingly alone in my hut with no one to listen to my complaints but God. It must have been Him that put this idea into my head, because why a normal person would begin reading this book when they think they are suffering is beyond me. Being the stubborn person that I am, I opened my Bible and began to read. We all know the first part when God is bragging to the devil about how awesome his servant Job is, and then he proceeds to let the devil take just about everything away from him in his life. This is normally the most that you can remember from Sunday School when you were a kid because that is all the action, but the next part is even better. I have never really read through it before, but the conversation between Job and his friends is captivating. It says that as soon as they got there, they tore their clothes and just sat with him for seven days without speaking a single word. I could put many words to go along with my 'troubles' especially if I had someone else around to talk to about them, but they said nothing. They just sat with him in his grief for seven full days.
They go on to eventually speak words, and what I have read so far has amazed me. One friend encourages him in God's faithfulness to the righteous, another tells about how God will redeem and restore all that was lost. Still in this Job curses the day he was born and I just about laughed when he said that he will speak out of the bitterness of his soul.
This takes you to about chapter 11 and God has already been teaching me so much through it. I have realized that I too have friends that are willing to encourage me in this way when I more often times than not, find myself speaking out of bitterness. So thank you so much for walking through this journey with me! I really do appreciate your encouragement and love that comes from God and that is the best thing I could ever have, even though i might not be the most thrilled to hear it at times. I will be sure to post more on this subject as I continue to read and as God prompts.