"And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden…. To dress it and keep it".

As you, my friends well know, I have not blogged very much about my everyday goings on, as I guess that I felt the need to just blog when I had something significant to say, such as my poetry, song or story of some kind.

But as it has been pointed out, by several of you, you would love to know how things are in my world, and would not be bored to read about my life, so I will make an effort to write more.  And, come to think of it, I am never bored hearing about your lives, so turn about is fair play, hey?

Joseph, my dear friend, crushgroove blogged today about what the Lord did for him, after he just whispered a prayer, and about the goodness of God, and it triggered in my mind what has been going on with me.

I am prone to coughing that comes and goes, usually triggered by bouts of acid reflux.  When it happens, it tends to hang on until it has gone down into my chest and caused bronchitis, and this past few weeks has been no different.  When I cough I make such a racket, my husband says he is sure it would raise the dead, and the whole town can hear it. but it is because the coughing is not productive and almost kills me before I am done.  My sides ache, my chest burns and I am as weak as a kitten before it is all over, because I spend the whole night coughing.  I have to take cough syrup at night, just to try to make me drowsy enough to not cough for a bit and get a little sleep (and my husband a bit of peace).

So, to make a long story shorter, Joseph mentioned that he said a tiny prayer for God to help him in his situation, then kept on through his symptoms until God came through for him.  But what I had done during the past few weeks was to pray but then mope around and stay in bed and away from church because I did not feel well.  And of course, along with my illness came bouts of depression because I had not been out in ages and I felt so weak.

Therefore, on Saturday, I was at my wits' end, and I was trying to prepare songs for the Sunday service, as I am supposed to play the piano for praise and worship.  I had missed the previous Sunday, and I knew that it put them in a bind for me to miss, and I was just trying to get up and about, although I still felt bad and was coughing the whole time I tried to practice the songs.  I finally just left the piano and said "this is it" in my mind. 

I was alone in the apartment, and I finally just fell to my knees in prayer.  I spoke a few words to the Lord in English and then the Holy Spirit took over, as I was at my wits' end and did not have the words to express my spiritual and physical condition to the Lord. I don't know how long I spent on my knees, but toward the end, the Lord lifted my spirits so much that I stood and started dancing before him, and He restored the joy of my salvation to me.  I felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulder....what a relief...but I was still coughing on and off.

But I struggle through the practice, through the night, and was determined not to miss service....and do you know, I coughed up until service time, and I coughed a bit afterward, but I did not give one cough DURING THE SERVICE! It lasted an hour and a half, and I sang through five songs, which lasted over thirty minutes and I did not utter one cough.

What do you think? Do you think that the Lord wanted me to step out in faith and allow him to do the work, instead of wasting one more service lying around in bed?  Do you think that the Lord sometimes tries our faith? 

I would welcome your comments and replies about when and how your faith has been tested.

Bless you all; thank you for being faithful friends and my Mindsay family.

Bonnie