I have been going through so much. I have spent most of my adult life, since the age of 23 living with an unequally yoked partner. We were both non Christians when we first met. He was involved in the occult and although I knew of God and Jesus, I had not made the decision to belive and accept Christ yet so i thought nothing of occult or pagan beliefs.We immediately moved in together thinking we were in love. God showed me all the redflags that I chose to ignore because God is so good that even though i hadnt accepted him yet, he still had his hands on me. Things began to deteriorate as years went by. He became violent and isolated me from my family and from friends. We had 2 children and he refused to marry me or let me go. I became severely depressed and suicidal and i was afaid to seek outside help because he threatened to use it against me to take our children away. He made me loose all of my jobs so that way i was completely dependent on him. I am never good enough. My cleaning is not good enough, my cooking is always a problem, my parenting skills is never good. Im never consistent and hes right. Because i feel like what is the point of even trying thank God for my childen who love me and motivate me so much. Even after he yells and humiliates me in front of them, my kids come and hug me and tell me how much of a great mom i am. They tell me not to listen to him and they pray for me. They tell me they don't blame me for staying with him because he is not normal and who knows what he is capable of if we leave. Through all of this the hardest thing is finding reasons to be thankful. I did finally accept Christ and is salvation and so did my children. I am very thankful for this and when things get rough i try to think of that. At least we know where we will go if we die. Things have not changed much with my partner. He is still deeply involved in serving the occult. He continues to be verbally and emotionally abusive to us. I am now 44 and I am closer to Jesus. God has placed a great local church and wonderful prayer warriors in my life. He is working on a plan for me and my family. I truly believe it. He tells me to be patient in my circumstances and as hard as i find it to be thankful and grateful through this oppression, I know the Lord is with me and sometimes that alone, is enough for me to be thankful. Thank you for your article although our situations are different, I can relate to how you feel and how hard it is.
I too have problems focusing on the negatives instead of being thankful for the positives especially when things get hard. I try to list three good things about the day before going to bed. We can't see the masterpiece that is being made but the master does. Love you, Erin!!!
“Tomorrow’s troubles don’t negate today’s blessings, and nothing can take away God’s goodness.” This was such a good word! I struggle with the same feelings that somehow giving thanks “preemptively” will “jinx” the good things happening, even though I, too, would say I don’t actually believe that. This was such an encouragement to be grateful for each day’s mercies. I also so relate to the feeling of believing stewarding a past season of suffering well makes me immune to having to go through it again, I actually just lamented that to my therapist this week. This was a great reminder that we will never escape suffering, but God is never leaves us. Thanks for being so honest, and I pray the small mercies continue to make a big impact in your life. 🤍
I was on page 136 of Ann Voskamp's book "One Thousand Gifts" when my 7-year-old son skied head first into a tree, destroying his helmet and part of his brain. As I watched him recover from brain surgery, my already-begun practice of counting my blessings went into overload. I was thankful for open eyes and seizure-free moments, his first spoken words and cognitive assurance, surgeons and nurses and people who have committed their lives to being available to save my son's life. Instead of drowning in sorrow over circumstance, the yoke of the Lord was the life preserver which kept my head above water. When he took his first bite of food, I thanked the Lord, laughing, realizing a week earlier I would have never given thanks that my son took a bite of food. Intentional thanksgiving is a great practice. Keep it up!!
I’m thankful God heard our many prayers for our daughter who had a cocaine addiction. We prayed that God would “draw her back”, only thinking she may be back for a moment before she died. Well, she’s been sober since 2008. She’s married. She has two beautiful daughters who are eight and 10 years old. They are full of life, and their laughter is such a blessing!!! She is our only daughter, so I’m so grateful to have her back! We talk every day, even though she lives in a different state.. and we feel blessed to be able to help them afford to go to a wonderful Christian school!!
I have a whole other gratitude story about our oldest son being save from suicidal thoughts… God has been so good to us through these huge trials.
My husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson since 2020, but we think he’s had it since probably 2015 and we’re only 65 years old. I know this is going to be another huge trial, but I also know God will be with us each day and there will always be things for which to be grateful!
We praise God for our 4 wonderful children, their spouses, and our 6 precious grandchildren!
Tami, thank you so much for sharing this with me! What a wonderful story of God’s goodness! Your confidence in his faithfulness as you face another hard road encourages me. Thank you!
I wish I could convey how much I can relate with what you’re sharing, Erin. I just want you to know that you’re not alone, as cliche as that may sound. And that I also struggle with celebrating and giving thanks when it’s warranted - I frequently repeat Mary Oliver’s missive to myself, “joy is not made to be a crumb.” 🧡
This is so true. I do similar practices of gratitude. One of mine when is when I open the curtains at the beginning of the day and close them at the end to just pause and give thanks. I also write every little thing I can think of to be grateful for in a week in my prayer journal. Like you, I can’t say it’s a miracle “cure” but it definitely helps shape my perspective. Praying for you, that things get easier. 💗
I have been going through so much. I have spent most of my adult life, since the age of 23 living with an unequally yoked partner. We were both non Christians when we first met. He was involved in the occult and although I knew of God and Jesus, I had not made the decision to belive and accept Christ yet so i thought nothing of occult or pagan beliefs.We immediately moved in together thinking we were in love. God showed me all the redflags that I chose to ignore because God is so good that even though i hadnt accepted him yet, he still had his hands on me. Things began to deteriorate as years went by. He became violent and isolated me from my family and from friends. We had 2 children and he refused to marry me or let me go. I became severely depressed and suicidal and i was afaid to seek outside help because he threatened to use it against me to take our children away. He made me loose all of my jobs so that way i was completely dependent on him. I am never good enough. My cleaning is not good enough, my cooking is always a problem, my parenting skills is never good. Im never consistent and hes right. Because i feel like what is the point of even trying thank God for my childen who love me and motivate me so much. Even after he yells and humiliates me in front of them, my kids come and hug me and tell me how much of a great mom i am. They tell me not to listen to him and they pray for me. They tell me they don't blame me for staying with him because he is not normal and who knows what he is capable of if we leave. Through all of this the hardest thing is finding reasons to be thankful. I did finally accept Christ and is salvation and so did my children. I am very thankful for this and when things get rough i try to think of that. At least we know where we will go if we die. Things have not changed much with my partner. He is still deeply involved in serving the occult. He continues to be verbally and emotionally abusive to us. I am now 44 and I am closer to Jesus. God has placed a great local church and wonderful prayer warriors in my life. He is working on a plan for me and my family. I truly believe it. He tells me to be patient in my circumstances and as hard as i find it to be thankful and grateful through this oppression, I know the Lord is with me and sometimes that alone, is enough for me to be thankful. Thank you for your article although our situations are different, I can relate to how you feel and how hard it is.
Thank you for sharing this. My heart goes out to you. I an so glad you have a good church family and friends to support you!
I too have problems focusing on the negatives instead of being thankful for the positives especially when things get hard. I try to list three good things about the day before going to bed. We can't see the masterpiece that is being made but the master does. Love you, Erin!!!
“Tomorrow’s troubles don’t negate today’s blessings, and nothing can take away God’s goodness.” This was such a good word! I struggle with the same feelings that somehow giving thanks “preemptively” will “jinx” the good things happening, even though I, too, would say I don’t actually believe that. This was such an encouragement to be grateful for each day’s mercies. I also so relate to the feeling of believing stewarding a past season of suffering well makes me immune to having to go through it again, I actually just lamented that to my therapist this week. This was a great reminder that we will never escape suffering, but God is never leaves us. Thanks for being so honest, and I pray the small mercies continue to make a big impact in your life. 🤍
Thanks for sharing, Kelsey! It's nice to know I'm not alone.
I was on page 136 of Ann Voskamp's book "One Thousand Gifts" when my 7-year-old son skied head first into a tree, destroying his helmet and part of his brain. As I watched him recover from brain surgery, my already-begun practice of counting my blessings went into overload. I was thankful for open eyes and seizure-free moments, his first spoken words and cognitive assurance, surgeons and nurses and people who have committed their lives to being available to save my son's life. Instead of drowning in sorrow over circumstance, the yoke of the Lord was the life preserver which kept my head above water. When he took his first bite of food, I thanked the Lord, laughing, realizing a week earlier I would have never given thanks that my son took a bite of food. Intentional thanksgiving is a great practice. Keep it up!!
What a powerful testimony! Thank you for sharing with me.
Erin, I will pray for you. I am keeping a Gratitude journal and the practice of giving thanks in all circumstances has helped me.
Thank you for your article.
Thank you for reading and for praying, Colleen!
I’m thankful God heard our many prayers for our daughter who had a cocaine addiction. We prayed that God would “draw her back”, only thinking she may be back for a moment before she died. Well, she’s been sober since 2008. She’s married. She has two beautiful daughters who are eight and 10 years old. They are full of life, and their laughter is such a blessing!!! She is our only daughter, so I’m so grateful to have her back! We talk every day, even though she lives in a different state.. and we feel blessed to be able to help them afford to go to a wonderful Christian school!!
I have a whole other gratitude story about our oldest son being save from suicidal thoughts… God has been so good to us through these huge trials.
My husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson since 2020, but we think he’s had it since probably 2015 and we’re only 65 years old. I know this is going to be another huge trial, but I also know God will be with us each day and there will always be things for which to be grateful!
We praise God for our 4 wonderful children, their spouses, and our 6 precious grandchildren!
Thank you for your article!
Keep counting!
Tami
Tami, thank you so much for sharing this with me! What a wonderful story of God’s goodness! Your confidence in his faithfulness as you face another hard road encourages me. Thank you!
I wish I could convey how much I can relate with what you’re sharing, Erin. I just want you to know that you’re not alone, as cliche as that may sound. And that I also struggle with celebrating and giving thanks when it’s warranted - I frequently repeat Mary Oliver’s missive to myself, “joy is not made to be a crumb.” 🧡
Ohhh, that’s a good word. Thank you for the reminder that I’m not alone.
This is so true. I do similar practices of gratitude. One of mine when is when I open the curtains at the beginning of the day and close them at the end to just pause and give thanks. I also write every little thing I can think of to be grateful for in a week in my prayer journal. Like you, I can’t say it’s a miracle “cure” but it definitely helps shape my perspective. Praying for you, that things get easier. 💗
I love that you begin and end your day with thanks! Thank you for your prayers, friend.
Praying for you, Erin—and sending an email your way!