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The Amish Voice 11
Pennsylvania Deitsh
Testament
If you
would
like to obtain
a New Testament with
Psalms and Proverbs in Pennsylvania
Deitsh, they are available for $13.95
postpaid from the
TGS International,
PO Box 355,
Berlin OH 44610
Phone 330-893-4828
You do not need to send money ahead
of time; they will bill you with your
order. Your local Christian bookstore
may also have them available.
The last few months have been wild with
the challenges, stresses, and hurdles that
come with being a family of seven who are
learning to grow and surrender to God's plan.
Things can seem downright overwhelming as
we all know very well, and it takes a lot of
focus and determination at times to keep our
spirits and courage up so we can keep going.
It has been a season of my life when I
feel that I am swallowing way more than my
share of responsibility, and there have been
times I have been downright resentful about
it. (They say confession is good for the soul,
so there you have it!) Many times I cry out to
God and ask Him, "Why? Why?” It seems so
unfair, especially when those who should be
shouldering the responsibility are right there
and refuse to shoulder their part. (My opin-
ion, but it is very accurate, I am sure!)
It has also been a time when I feel utterly
helpless in my circumstances. It is impossi-
ble for me, yet I can't seem to get help from
anyone either.
Often I find myself in fight or flight
mode...you know, when you feel you can't
handle another minute, and you want to run
away until some people get a clue and
straighten up? I'm sure no one else has ever
felt that way! ;) I have begged and pleaded
with God to please heal my baby, please heal
my husband, please remove some stress,
please help the baby to sleep when I need
rest, etc....You know all those feelings, I am
sure.
I don't know. Maybe you never feel like
this, but my hunch tells me that most of us
know this feeling well or have experienced it
at one time or another in our lives. No matter
how hard we try to change our circumstances
or try to get out of a situation, we find our-
selves cornered. We begin to wonder,
WHAT IS God trying to DO?! We begin to
desperately plead with Him to show us what-
ever it is He wants us to see. ANYTHING to
be out of the current situation!
While I have often been in situations like
this, my current one takes the cake. There are
so many different things going on all at once,
almost all of which I have little control over,
and, for some reason, all of them are adding
stress or work for me, taking me to a place
where I feel like something has to change or
I might just pop with the pressure!
Have you ever noticed how during these
times it also seems no one else can see the
amount of pressure you are under, and they
just keep saying, "You need to give this to
God"?! If we are honest with ourselves, we
often feel like telling them to be quiet. It can
be an extremely lonely time.
Ok, so what am I getting at? What is real-
ly going on? Are you going to give us some
relief? Well, no, I'm not, but Someone is; that
is, after we allow ourselves to die to the pro-
cess.
What?! Die?! Yes. Consider how a seed
has to die in order for a new plant or flower
to spring to life. These situations are just like
that. The
pressure and heat is allowed to
cause old, obsolete, or ugly things to die off,
so a new person can emerge.
Did you ever ask yourself, "Why does
this keep happening to me?" Does it seem
like the same type of scenario keeps repeating
itself, or the same type of irritating people
keep appearing in your life, seemingly to
torment you? And often the situation be-
comes more intense the more often it re-
turns? This is because if we fail the test, we
just get to repeat it over and over until we
finally figure it out. This may feel cruel, but it
is actually God giving us chance after chance
to allow Him to work in our lives and make
us better people. He is actually coaxing us,
"Please let me do my work in you. Please let
me make you into the person I need to use in
my Kingdom."
There is a song that says, "The soul afraid
of dying never learns to live." We need to
learn to surrender to the process. It does not
mean we just give up, but we say, "Ok, Fa-
ther. I surrender to Your work in me. I allow
my flesh to die so You can make me what
You want me to be."
And remember, winter's dying seed be-
comes summer's rose.
In dying we live, and
letting the ugly die, the beautiful can emerge!
Be encouraged, and surrender to God's pro-
cess in you! He has beautiful plans for your
life!
Winter Seeds & Summer Roses
—Lynn Miller