I grew up in the South and I LOVE the summer. I love everything about it. I love being tan, eating ice cream, going to the pool, having my hair blonder, wearing cute summer outfits, and most especially sandals and FLIP-FLOPS!!!! On the other hand, I have never liked winter time at all. I gain weight during the holidays every year without fail, I can't stand winter clothes, I don't like having to wear a coat at all, I don't like being cold, and I could just go on and on.
SO, when me moved to Georgia, I just dreaded winter. We moved here in April and the closer it got to Halloween I just kept dreading the cold. October came and it was absolutely gorgeous here. So once November rolled around I really kept dreading the inevitable cold weather. Thanksgiving came and went and I just couldn't believe how amazing the weather STILL was. Then came December and there were only 2 maybe 3 days max that it was pretty darn cold. Here it is January 16th and it is still in the upper 50s and low 60s during the day. I was pondering all of this today and I wondered to myself how many times I have dreaded things just knowing they were going to happen and they never did. I wasted all that time dreading the cold and just totally anticipating the worst. I assumed I would freeze for months and would be so miserable all winter long. Since we moved here the weather has been just totally beautiful. I saw a fall season like I have never seen before in my life. The trees were so gorgeous and seeing a beautiful waterfall among them is quite breathtaking.
I realized that with all that has happened the past couple of years but especially in 2011, I had subconsciously been dreading and fearing the worst possible things. Over the past couple of weeks anytime I had a thought that contradicted what God's word said, I would just say "I trust you Jesus, I know you have my back and I know my answers are on their way." Some days and some nights, I had to say this over and over and over. Today, when I realized how much I had been dreading, I changed my thoughts. I started envisioning my marriage being completely restored, I envisioned this year being the best year of my life! I started seeing in my minds eye the big visions God has given me becoming a reality. I started to let it sink in and BELIEVE it!!
I just felt so much peace and comfort. Then I came home and something that we had been praying and believing for for a very long time came to pass! So yeah, I think I'm gonna practice NOT dreading. What are you dreading? Did something come immediately to your mind as you read this post? Well stop dreading it!! Start anticipating what you WANT to happen and stop focusing on what you DON'T want to happen. And I am pretty certain you'll see things in your life start to turn around in the right direction.
