What is "Building A House"?


"Building A House" is a blog about my journey back to God. The name comes from Proverbs 24:3-4 (The Message), "It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; it takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies."

No, this isn't going to be a blog about making my house look pretty - at least not pretty on the OUTSIDE. But, I'm going to be working on getting my house
"pretty" on the SPIRITUAL side. I'm coming back from a pretty dark place in my life after losing 8 babies to miscarriage. This blog is about my journey back
to the Lord.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Proverbs 27:9

"The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense."
Proverbs 27:9 (NLT)

Ahhhhh... I can attest the truthfulness of this Proverb. Last night (Jan. 26, 2012) I bared my soul to my dearest friend about something I wrote about here, but was unable to write about. I've decided I'm not going to share that here on this blog. Perhaps someday I'll change my mind, but it's just a bit too personal to put on on the worldwide web.

I felt the Lord guiding me to share this information with my friend, Terri so I could get the opinion of someone who isn't trained (and paid) to make me feel better (my Christian counselor). I needed to know if the things my counselor was telling me were really true or if she was just saying what she thought I needed to hear.

So, I bared my soul to Terri. My emotional self was so scared to broach this subject with her. But, my spiritual self kept reminding me that the Lord pushed me to do this, so he would be with me. I just let it all out and then sat back - knowing, in my heart, that she wouldn't condemn me, but being afraid, in my mind, that she might think I was a loser.

And just like the smell of sweet perfume can make you melt in comfort, the words my dear friend shared with me made me feel like I was floating in a room full of incense. There was no condemnation. There was no judgment. There was acceptance; there was compassion; there was understanding; and there was love. She gently corrected me on some of the things I believed that she felt were not quite right (such as me saying all I needed to do was ask for God's forgiveness and he'd forgive me. She said he has already forgiven me.)

I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and that I didn't have to carry the guilt and shame I had been carrying for over 20 yrs any longer. I have been forgiven and I am on the way to forgiving myself. I can't say I'm quite there, yet, but I'm a lot farther than I was yesterday afternoon, that's for sure!

I have said it before and I'll keep on saying it: I am so blessed to have the friends that I have. And my friendship / sisterhood with Terri is one of the things in my life that I'm so incredibly grateful for! This blog post is for you, my sister! I love you!

4 comments:

  1. Jen, this is so sweet! I am so glad that God was able to speak through me to help you. I have watched you grow over the past few months. I am so happy that your relationship with God has been restored. I prayed and prayed it would and now as I watch you blossom I am so thankful. It was so hard to watch you go through so much pain. I know not all the pain is behind you yet, but you are on your way out of the dense forest of confusion. I will continue to pray and watch and thank the Lord for what he is doing in your life. God bless you, sister!

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  2. Thank you for your encouraging words, Terri. Your prayers mean the world to me and please know that I am praying for you and your family daily. God bless you too!

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  3. I have marveled at how much you've grown in your relationship with the Lord. Do you remember the conversations we had as we drove to CA in 2008? You were so filled with hurt and doubt.

    Look at you now. Glory to God!

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  4. I do remember, Theresa. That seems like so long ago! I was in church yesterday and just felt so close to the Lord. I even cried during the hymn, "How Great Thou Art". Partly because I felt so close to Jesus and partly because of how much that song made me think about Sandy's death. That song was played at my friend, Terri's Grandma's funeral back when we were younger so it always touches me deeply when I hear it, but then to sing it so close to Sandy's death, well... it was too much and the tears just fell. God is good. Emotions are good and I'm learning that tears are good as well. :-) Glory to God is absolutely correct! (((Theresa)))

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