3.9.21
[[Reposted and some updates on 4.12.21 as I turn these into individual blog posts]]
Revelations 21:1-5
Think of a time in your life that was marked by suffering. How can you use that experience as a story of hope and encouragement to help others?
A couple of occasions have had suffering for me, but not as I believe the Revelations passage is referring too. I think it is important to define suffering though. Suffering is to ” undergo, endure or submit too” something. It also means to “allow, permit, put up with, tolerate”. The bible uses both versions. My belief is that this part of the 40 Days is referring too the first, based upon the Revelations passage as John was writing to people who were experiencing death due to their belief. People who were in mourning, crying and pain.
I have been LUCKY… Suffering for me as been things like Bankruptcy in 2009/2010. A love one being brutally beaten, near death, so I suffered for her, but she was really the one who had the damage done.
My suffering has been mostly of the “undergo, endure or submit too” kind. 2009/2010 was a brutal period for me. The economy had a major downturn (recession) and I lost a business in it and had to file Chap7 BK. Personally that was a huge blow to my confidence and ego. IT took me until 2013/2014 to finally get a real job again. I had been maintaining my video gaming event company after the BK, but that was really working it to lose less money… I had a lease, I could not get get out of it, so I worked it full time to minimize the damage, but that left me without being able to get a real job, and, honestly, was not in the right headspace to get one anyway. I was depressed, defeated. For someone who is so confident in them self, I was broken.
I had to find a way out of it. I am a self starter, it took some time, but I got back in the job market, found a job at an HVAC/Chimney company, took their service department over, more then doubled their chimney division sales in 90ish days, and then was off and running again. I had HOPE. I knew I could do it, I just had to Go Do It.
