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God answered my prayers

Aside | Posted on by Dr. T

Sometimes I wonder if God heard my prayers before I actually accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Today I was on Facebook and on the right column it showed names of people who “I might know.” I noticed that one of the names was my ex-boyfriend from high school. I clicked on his profile and saw that he was married about three years ago—this means that he was either a widower or had a divorce because he was married before then.

I thought about what my mother had said when I was dating him, “He’d make a good husband.” I love my mother, but I knew she was wrong about this person; and because of her statement, I knew that she was not a good judge of character.

I remember the first time my mother met my husband (he was not my husband yet). He flew to California from Florida to ask my hand in marriage (he said he wanted to see the Queen Mary so we went there and that’s where he asked me to marry him and I said, “Yes”).

When I came home, I told my mother that he had asked me to marry him. Instead of being happy about it, she was a little upset. She didn’t like my future husband for some reason. The first thing she said was, “He didn’t ask me for permission” (I don’t think that was the “real reason” why she didn’t like him because she didn’t seem to like him even before then). Even though my mother didn’t like my husband, I still married him.

I know that if I had married anyone else, then I think my marriage would have ended with divorce. For some reason, I knew my husband was the right guy even though no one in my family seemed to think so.

Years before, I had prayed for a guy who would love me for who I was (not what he wanted me to be). I prayed for someone who would be a good husband, a good father, and a good provider. I prayed for someone who would be faithful. I prayed for someone who would be supportive of me. I prayed for a guy who would WANT to be with me for the rest of his life.

Even though I was not a believer of Christ at the time, I think that God still heard my prayers because He gave me my husband. On the 24th of this month (November), we will be married 29 years. I thank God for him every day.

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Copyright © 2013 Dr. M. Teresa Trascritti
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Just keeping it simple…

Aside | Posted on by Dr. T

We’ve been camping a lot lately—partly because we have a camper now, but mostly because camping allows me to experience “simple living.” Everything we have with us meets our basic needs—nothing is elaborate.

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The last time we camped, we waited for the stars to come out. The sun slowly faded in the distance then the dark crept in.

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Even though we waited several hours, we did not see any stars but it was still a good experience.

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I need days like these—setting aside my hectic schedule to enjoy a little bit of nature—God’s creation.

“Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!” (Psalm 72:19).

Copyright © 2013 Dr. M. Teresa Trascritti
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It’s only been a day and a half

Aside | Posted on by Dr. T

It’s only been a day and a half since I had my tonsils removed (it feels a lot longer than that though). The hardest part about going into this was not knowing how much pain I would actually feel after the operation. Both the ENT doc and the anesthesiologist said that I would be in a lot of pain, but what does that really mean? Is what I imagined to be “a lot of pain” the same as what they meant?

I am in pain—it’s not excruciating, but it’s to the point that I just want my life to go back to “normal.” I want to talk again, I want to swallow again, I want to run and jump again… but, I can’t even blow my nose or eat “real” food. I ate my second bowl of liquified black bean soup this evening and halfway through it, I felt like gagging— it was the consistency.

I know that I will be better in a couple of weeks, but it’s only been about two days and it feels like an eternity already. I know I need to be patient, but it seems so hard. I can’t imagine what it must be for someone who is in constant pain. My pain should be better in about ten days, so I need to be silent and thank God that all I had was a tonsillectomy.

Romans 12:9-12 says, “…cling to what is good… Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor… Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (NIV).

It’s so easy to start wallowing in self-pity, but that’s not how God wants me to react. My situation is only temporary. I need to find the joy even in my momentary pain, and I can’t let my current circumstances distract me from praising God—I must continue to cling to Him. I must continue to pray, not for myself, but for others. I need to stay focused—“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).

Copyright © 2013 Dr. M. Teresa Trascritti
Christianity, Commentary

Bad things happen

Aside | Posted on by Dr. T

My husband and I are reading through Genesis and we are now at the part about Joseph. We just finished reading about Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. It made me think about all the things he went through prior to that point— stripped of his clothing, thrown into a deep hole in the ground by his own brothers, sold to strangers, worked as a household servant, being falsely accused of attempted rape, and thrown in jail. I can only imagine what he must have felt—betrayed, scared, confused, lonely, etc. He had no idea that all of these situations were a part of God’s plan.

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It made me think about all the bad things that I had been through—tough circumstances that made me wonder if God was really there. Looking back, I can see that even though Satan “intended to harm me,” God “intended it all for good” (Gen 50:20). If I had never experienced all the negative things in my life then my heart might not have been receptive in accepting Christ as my Savior, and I would not have seen God’s miraculous work in my life nor would I have received His blessings. It made me realize that even bad things are a part of God’s plan—I just have to remember that when I am in the midst of a bad situation.

Christianity, Commentary

Uncomfortable

Aside | Posted on by Dr. T

I had such a hard time getting up this morning. I knew I had to workout today but all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I had to gather all the will power I had inside of me to get dressed and go on the treadmill. Sometimes I feel the same way about going to church or doing ministry.

I had the best workout so far– ran/jogged 6.2 miles in 70:38 minutes (I want to run a 10K in May). Ran/jogged a total of 6.92 miles in 80:01 minutes. It made me realize that we have to break out of what is comfortable. This morning I was comfortable in my warm bed. On days when I have church or when I have some kind of ministry to do, I often feel like staying at home where I am cozy; but it seems that when I muster the will power to go then I am blessed by the experience. I came across Romans 12:11 today, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” (NLT).

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I know that I will have days when I will want to be comfortable again, but I hope that I will remember the blessings I experienced when I was uncomfortable.