Tag: change

All He Has Done…

Do you ever find yourself in a place of beating yourself up because you just aren’t good enough? Beating yourself up because you still have bad habits that you wish you didn’t have. Maybe you’re looking at the world around you and wishing it were better than it is.

It is so easy to get stuck in that rut of despair, and in a place of hopelessness. It is easy to go down the dark windy road of doubt and disbelief. And yet I don’t believe that’s where God wants us to land and to stay.

I found this morning that I needed to sit back and make a list of all the things God has done in my life. I started with the near term, and that list was pretty long. As I write this, I’m thinking back to my childhood, my adolescence, and my early 20s, It really is but by the grace of God that I’m still alive and healthy.

My life has changed radically because I was willing to ask for help. I was willing to go to another and say I can’t do this. Sometimes that was a counselor, sometimes it was a lay minister, sometimes it was healing prayer. A lot of times it was sitting in the darkness of my room, crying out. Asking to be changed. But it was me asking. It was a desire for my heart to be different.

So what changed in me? Little things started the change. I quit smoking overnight. I quit over eating to fill the void in my heart. I quit drinking so that I would fit in. A change in who I was dependent on, from seeking out relationships with with people (OK, let’s be real, men) to a relationship with God. Getting to know who Jesus is and become willing to open my hands and ask the Holy Spirit into my life as a guide.

I got a soul friend, a spiritual director, a partner in Faith, whatever you wanna call it but someone who I could wrestle with my insecurities and who would hear from the Holy Spirit and talk me through it. And I opened my heart up more to ask God where I need to change.

Someone asked me the other day how long it takes to change and become more like Jesus. I had to remind them, and me, that we are made in the image of God, but we are not God. We will never be perfect. Our journey will never end until it ends. That means for the rest of our lives, we get to have a close dependent relationship with the Lord.

This morning, I woke to a vision of Angels. I never really believed in angels before. I have come to believe that spiritual and human angels led me to an understanding of what God wants to do in my life. Just like Paul, these angles helped break the chains that bound me to behaviors I needed to relinquish. And just like Paul, they led me out of the darkness and into the light. (acts 12:5-1)

When I sit in that light and when I breathe in the Holy Spirit, I can feel a presence unlike anything else and I know that God isn’t finished with me yet. I am thankful for what he has done, and trust that there is more to come. I’m not as young as I used to be, my body doesn’t jump as quickly; however, my heart still does. I’m still asking how he wants me to change, and working on that change. I’m asking what he wants me to do in this part of my life, and that gives me energy and excitement.

I encourage you to read Romans 8. Learn about living life in the Spirit and God’s desire to transform our lives- together! One little word of advice from Paul:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

Peace be with you friends.

Tags change, forgiven, God, healing, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, recovery, redemption, Romans, second half life, transform, transformation

friendship The Lighter Walk

The Value of Friendship

There was a time in my life that I thought I would never have girlfriends. My childhood abuse twisted my thinking and I had mostly guy “friends.” I just didn’t know how to be friends with a woman.

Thanks to years of therapy and some incredible women who helped me heal from the trauma in my life- that all turned around in my late 40s. It was partly tied to being a mom and meeting other moms. But mostly, it was a change in my needs from needing a man to notice me, to having someone I could have an authentic life-sharing relationship with.

I have four life-long friends. We live in scattered parts of America and don’t have the day-to-day relationship we wish we did. I’m so thankful we were childhood friends. It reminds me that God places people in our lives when we need them, and boy did we need each other growing up! We trusted each other as teenagers do, with most of our inner secrets.

When I had my daughter, and took some time to deal with the childhood wounds, I had one friend who stood by me through all my emotional ups and downs. Who knew when we met as school-moms that we would be blessed to become such true friends. I met another sweet woman when my husband was in a major accident, who thought me to lean on a woman and trust them to walk with me. I also had the gift of a sister who protected me when I was young, and still walks through all the good, and not so good, moments of my life. It is a gift to share their moments with them and to navigate the waters of life together.

I have come to value and appreciate girlfriends in a way I never knew would be possible. Sadly, I have also found that women and friendships can fade away or be torn apart with no apparent reason. And I have found that when a friendship suddenly ends, it is as painful, if not more, as a broken love relationship. For me, I’m left questioning everything I did over our years of journeying together, trying to find that one moment where things broke down in hopes I can repair and restore our relationship.

I believe we each carry some bit of wounding from our past. When that wounding isn’t healed (and sometimes even when it is) and something subconsciously reminds us of it, we tend to flee to avoid further pain. We may fire up and fight against the perceived infliction of further injury- or we just shut down, unable to process or articulate what has occurred. I know that has been true for me.

Sadly, those reactions usually end a relationship over what could be a misspoken word, an unintentional action, or lack of knowledge of one’s sensitivity. We as women can far too quickly internalize an offense and turn on one another, destroying a valuable relationship.

Why are we willing to shatter something that is such a gift to have? Why would we so easily give away a deep sense of being known by another person? Why would we not trust each other with this kind of personal wounding when we have already shared so much? What makes us stop short when we need to say: “What you said/did hurt me.”

I sit today grieving over another broken relationship that I don’t know how to mend. It isn’t the first time I have had to question myself and my behavior, searching to understand my error. I wish I could restore the friendships that faded away or abruptly ended; however, I know that may never happen. That adds to my sorrow.

I hope I can learn from this. I hope I can let God heal my new wound. I pray he would intervene and bring restoration in our broken friendships. I pray for each of us, that we would see each new handshake and introduction as an opportunity to build a new friendship. I know we are made to be in relationship and I won’t give that up. I am willing to take the risk again. I hope you too will find resolution in broken relationships and either rebuild them or learn and move forward into the next one.

Today, I am thankful for all the relationships I have had. I am grateful for the times we shared, even if they ended. And I appreciate the new relationships God continues to lead me toward and hopeful that they can become good lasting friendships too.

Tags change, forgiveness, friendship, relationship, relationships, women

Aging in Grace

The Face I Have

Have you ever had a moment of looking in the mirror and wondering who that person is looking back at you? I think we all have times when the person we see in our mind is not necessarily the physical person that everyone else sees. For me, I want to have the face that shows love and kindness, and if I’m honest, I want a face that shows youthfulness! But the reality is my face shows the years of living, and they weren’t always great years. I hope that my eyes at least show what God has done with those years. I hope my eyes show the love of Jesus me who transformed my inner being.

Tags aging, change, God's plan, image, ministry, mission, purpose, surgery, transform, transformation

Transformation Stories

The Path to New Life

Life is a journey of finding our meaning, finding our purpose, and stepping forward into the place we believe we are called to live. For years, I have had a vision of a cobblestone path when I meditate or pray. There are times the path is dark, other times the stones are bright. It has been surrounded by flowers; at times it is just grass and even unplanted fields. During really special times of prayer, I often have an overwhelming sense of the Lord guiding me on the path and it always appears more inviting then!

Every pilgrimage toward meaning and purpose begins with a first step and a base upon which we gingerly lay stones of uncertainty. The stones we lay are different; each telling a story of the unique steps taken. Some have been forcefully thrown on my path without care for the impact. Those are the ones that cause me to trip and fall off the path. The ones that make me unsteady in my journey. They are the ones that also compelled me to cry out to God. Help me! Change me! Don’t leave me here.

Tags change, faith, gifts, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, path, purpose, purposeful living, service, transform

Transformation Stories

A Hope I Can Trust

Hope is such an encouraging word. We say it all the time: I hope you feel better, I hope you get the job, I hope it all works out. Dictionary.com defines it as: “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.” We keep hoping “to feel that something desired may happen.” We don’t know that it will, but it could happen and in saying “I hope,” we mean that we will wait together for whatever is to come, anticipating the best outcome.

However, there is a different kind of hope we discover this time of year – a deeper spiritual hope. This is an extended level of trust, often based on past spiritual experiences or shared stories. It is a hope placed in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a prayer we offer to God, believing in our own spirit, that God will manage the details as we walk with him.

Tags advent, change, finances, hope, Jesus, joy

Transformation Stories

A Thankful Changed Heart

I wanted to sleep in this Thanksgiving morn, and yet I was called out of bed to take in the sunrise over the apartments where I live. You see I was laying in bed moaning to myself about not having a bigger space to invite people into. I was regretting the mistakes that caused me to give up two incredible homes.

As I walked to the kitchen to switch on the coffee pot, I turned and looked out the window to yet another magical sunrise. As a friend used to say: “God hit me with a clue by four” and I remembered how blessed I am to have let all those other houses go. Those places were traps for me financially and, I dare say, spiritually too. It was all about the image I cast about my success and about my ability to fit into a higher economic status. “About me” is the key term here.

Eight years ago, I packed up everything and took a trip away. I didn’t know that stopping for a month and taking in the natural beauty of California would be a pivotal moment in my life. Everything changed when I came home. A smaller place to live—with a view! A new church with new relationships and healing. A new life that wasn’t focused on my image but on the image of Jesus.

Moving the focus from my wants to image-building and the message to have more, meant I could be open to see the needs of others around me. I stepped into prayer ministry. I became a spiritual director to help and encourage other women see God’s plan for them. God led me to little children and parents and a team of incredible care-givers. Unexpectedly, he led me to help create an outreach ministry for those in need of food and care. And now, I hear a call to do more. In HIS name and for HIM. Not me…

All along the way, God was guiding my steps. Even though I was stubborn and stuck to my ways, he was patient in letting me get to where he wants me. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the life journey of bumps and bruises because it has taken me to this new place of peace, of carrying others burdens, of waiting on the Lord to nudge me to the next thing.

I am thankful that he has changed my heart. I am thankful for praying friends who have walked with me through awful times. I am thankful for the hope of a new sunrise and a new adventure.

Tags change, Jesus, lifestyle, purposeful living, Thanksgiving, transform

Living Loving Serving

The Gift of my Church Community

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date July 22, 2021
No Comments on The Gift of my Church Community

This has been the summer I fully embraced the community of my church family. The one where I attend services and the one that has connected me with some life-long friends and acquaintances. It has been a summer of gathering together socially and spiritually. Mostly, it has been the best time I have had in years and I am beyond grateful.

Tags behavior, change, Christian, church, community, ephesians, faith, forgiveness, friendship, God, Holy Spirit, inspire, Jesus, LGBTQ, pool, sins, spiritual growth, transform

Living Loving Serving Transformation Stories

Respecting the Change

Change is hard. Change brings unfamiliarity. Change can be external to us while processed internally. Change can bring up feelings we never knew we had. Change can send us into a dark place or it can open the door to new opportunities. Change can make us angry or it can bring a sense of relief. Yes, change can be hard.

Tags behavior, change, Christian, Jesus, LGBTQ, pronoun, relationship, respect, transgender

The Lighter Walk Transformation Stories

Making God the Main Thing

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date August 19, 2020
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My life today is nothing compared to what it was even five years ago, let alone 30 years ago when I began my Christian journey. God planted a seed of change; however, it took almost 20 years to stop living according to my rules and listen to his desires for me.

Living Loving Serving Transformation Stories

When Change Means Asking Hard Questions

Post author By Maggie Marcum
Post date June 22, 2020
No Comments on When Change Means Asking Hard Questions

I am one of those people who isn’t afraid to ask the tough question. I love to get people thinking about opposing viewpoints or scenarios. When these are thoughtful civil discussions, we can begin to see that the alternative perspective has merit. We can begin to incorporate those perspectives into our own and realize a change in ourselves.