Hold On to Your Pieces

“The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.” - Acts 27: 42-44 NLT

It’s funny how the enemy has a plan to destroy you, but God is always there to flip his script.

In my older age, I find myself in still quiet moments reflecting over the many times life tried to take me out of here – from childhood to adulthood – and despite how harsh each encounter may have been, God delivered me safely out of them all.

When innocence was taken from me before I had even developed into young girl, it broke my spirit but I still had a piece of hope that I would become a reputable teenager, not distracted by being accepted and doing anything to fit in...God allowed that to be so. Wholeness was restored to me because I held on to a piece of hope. When my parents were absent from the most important years of my life due to their own life choices of substance abuse and/or running the streets, I still had a piece of wisdom to realize their absence was not my fault; somehow, someway, I would not be void of parental guidance growing up and even with every right to feel bitter, I'd have a deep love for my parents, believing that my relationship with them both would get better. As I submitted myself to God during my teen years, He used that time to introduce me to some amazing men and women who poured into me, so much, that I didn’t feel I was lacking a solid parent-child relationship. And, although my father passed when I was 16 years old, I was right there before he took his last breath on this earth – if that ain’t restoration, I don’t know what is. I could have been angry and distant while he was on his deathbed – but that wisdom (even if I didn’t fully comprehend it at the time) pushed me to release my disappointment and allow for my heart to be healed, and, for my father to depart this earth in peace. Adding to that, at this time in my life, I couldn’t be any closer to my mother. Our relationship was restored with much to attribute to the birth of my son, but also because I maintained a piece of wisdom; her life choices were never about me and once I understood that, I could forgive and press forward. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 31, and unsure of my life from one day to the next, I held on to a piece of faith – and here I am, eight years later, with no sign of cancer. Healing was restored because I held on to a piece of faith.

Without going into every single detail of every encounter (we'd be here forever, lol), my point is: no matter how hard the enemy tries to take you under, if you can hope and believe just a little bit (hold on to your broken pieces), you will find that dry land is on the other side of this! God will bring you safely to shore – you won’t sink!

Hold on!

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