Remembrance - He's been SO good to me

Remembrance - He's been SO, SO good to me...

I had this word stirring in my heart yesterday and I felt like the Lord really put it on my heart to share.

On Tuesday of this week, we had an amazing business meeting. The opportunity that was given to us was pretty big and we knew God sent this person to us, from step one. The future business with this person, would all be determined by our appointment on Thursday to get a big job done.

On the way home Tuesday night, we were praising God and just thanking Him for paving the way for us. We prayed that everything would go well Thursday and we knew as He always does, He would help us to get the job done.

Thursday, I had to work my regular job and Jon planned to go get started early and after work, I would go join him to help. Well, Jon gets to the job and things start to go wrong, our surface cleaner wasn't spinning properly.  In order to work correctly and clean the right way, this thing has to be working at full speed. So Jon texts me and tells me about it, I sent back a prayer, demanding that it work. I had tons of thoughts running through my head, saying why today? Not today, not on this job!

A while after Jon calls me and says "Babe, I'm not trying to stress you out, but we really need this tool for this job. Is there any way you can go rent one?" Our pressure washer is a very high psi, so you can't just run into Lowe's or Home Depot and buy one, we had ordered it on Amazon originally. So there was no quick fix, unless I rented one.

So, I headed over to Home Depot and on the way there I was listening to Remembrance by Hillsong Worship, it's one of my favorites so I just put it on repeat. The drive to the nearest Home Depot that rents, is quite a ways away. So, I'm just listening to the words to that song and singing it loud...

You've been so, so good to me
You've been so, so good to me
Oh, to think where I would be
If not for You, if not for You

And it hit me... So many times in life we are given something great, a big blessing or an answer to prayer and the moment something goes wrong, everything we were thankful for 5 minutes ago, goes out the window. There is not a doubt in my mind that God aligned this appointment to happen on Tuesday. It was totally God, but then why in the moment one thing goes wrong we start asking why and acting like it's the end of the world? 

Yesterday, some of those thoughts hit me, but I had to choose to make them leave and believe only the truth, remind myself that He is FOR me and not against me. I reminded myself we have this business because of Him. Things are going to happen, that's life, we just need to learn to navigate through the trials and allow Him to show us the way.

Hearing, You've been so, so good to me, it reminded me just how good He is. Just how much He has done for me. If not for Him, we wouldn't have this business. So, I even thought, how dare you Lynette, even start to question or act like everything He just did was erased all because ONE thing went wrong? When this hit me, I just began praising Him harder, thanking Him more with tears running down my face. I started talking to Him out loud, riding down the road, claiming He is for us and not against us, I know He will help us to complete this job with His hands all over it.

I got to Home Depot Tool Rental, rented a surface cleaner that is a BEAST and headed back to help Jon get the job done. At the end of the day, our customer was so thankful for all we did, he paid us above what we asked and wanted to cover the cost of the rental.

My point of sharing all of this, is to hopefully encourage anyone who might go through this when hiccups or roadblocks happen in life. Pray through them, praise through them, ask God to see you through it and He will. We ran into a trial yesterday in the midst of a job that we knew would completely bless us on the other end. It was a busy day, but it was not a bad day. We kept going and finished the job, then received a reward at the end of it.

Stay running this race, stay on track, keep trusting Jesus to pave the way, don't let minor setbacks discourage you. Remind yourself, He is for you and not against you.

When your own negative thoughts try to take over or the lies of the enemy, start singing and reminding yourself...
You've been so, so good to me
You've been so, so good to me
Oh, to think where I would be
If not for You, if not for You

He is such a good Father and just wants us to trust Him and turn to Him, in times of need. Let's all stop throwing in the towel, when trials come our way, let's start saying Jesus, you helped me get here and I know, You will see me through it.

With Love,
Lynette Colón

I couldn't but God DID!

Today, Isaiah and I had our routine 6 month cleanings at the dentist. The moment I walked in there, I was reminded of the last time we were there and all we were going through at the time. As I shared in my blog "I can't but God can" we went through some super tough financial times last year and I was reminded today of it and all God saw us through. 

Today as we walked into that office, I remembered them scheduling our six month follow up, I remember her asking us if the date and time was ok. I sat there with a smile on my face that day and said, yes that should be fine. Meanwhile, all I could think in my head is what does six months bring us? Will we even have a roof over our heads? Will we still have our house? Oh God, get us out of this mess. I remember having that icky feeling in my gut when she said March 8, because all I could think is, what else will we have lost by then? 

The lady helping us had no idea all of these thoughts were going through my head, of course, neither did Isaiah. I remember leaving that day and thinking, Lord please help us. I love our house, I love the area we live in, I love living so close to my parents, Lord see us through it all. 

If you didn't read my blog I'm referring to, you're probably wondering what was going on. Briefly, Jon had recently been laid off from his job, I was on medical leave, that the doctor's just kept on extending, I felt like I would never get back to work and lastly, we had recently started a pressure washing business and ALL three of our machines were down. None of them were working, so we had a complete stop in income. We went to our scheduled dentist appointment right in the midst of all of this loss, so I couldn't help but be a little bit worried and wondering what in the world the future held. 

Today, as I'm in that office, I was reminded of that exact feeling, that desperation I felt, the way I would plead for God to help us. Let me just tell you, He has truly helped us. That journey was tough and it has felt super long. After being without income, family members miraculously helping you, landlords miraculously letting you pay late, later and more late, you see that God was there all along. He never left us. It might have looked like a mess, I may have been a mess but God was there SEEING us THROUGH it. 

““Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because GOD, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.””

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:6‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Many times we think the answer to our prayers, means He removes us from it entirely, like maybe money falling from the sky or a snap of my fingers and our bills are all caught up, but that's not the way it works. He literally saw us through it. It was long, it was hard, it felt sometimes unbearable, but all along while I was crawling through this tough journey, He was there, holding my hand, doing what only He could and that was, making a way for me. The way may not have been smooth, but He was pushing things aside, allowing me to squeeze on through. 

I was back at that dentist office today and I was reminded of everything I felt. I will never forget what we went through, it was tough but I am SO thankful for it. I learned through it, I became closer to Him through it and He showed me how even though things might not be as easy as we would like them to be, He is there, handling it for us, making a way, where there is truly no way. 

Today, I stood in that dentist office after working all day because God made a way. Jon came and met us there, after WORKING all day because God made a way. Our pressure washing business is going again because God made a way!! I sat in that office with tears, realizing how He truly does do the impossible and how even though that journey seemed long, when I look back 6 months ago, to now, it feels like He picked me up out of the mess and stood me on solid ground. 

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:20 ‭MSG‬‬

Y'all, God is good!!!! He truly is good! This is the verse I held onto during our hard times, the moment I started believing this verse for our business, He opened the doors and performed a miracle to get us back in business. Whatever you are going through, no matter how rough the waters are, trust that Jesus is there, holding your hand. He will never leave you, lean on Him, allow Him to teach you something during the mess and He will. He is a good good good Father! 

I couldn't but God did! He loves us, He cares and He is there for us, even when it's hard for us to see. 

Lynette Colon