By Jeannine N. Williams
The title of this article are the exact words, I said after losing everything I owned in an apartment fire and experiencing one trial after another. What else could go wrong? Although, I felt numb, and in disbelief. I had experienced emotional turmoil and heartfelt pain, after losing all our personal belongings in a matter of minutes. And many of the items were sentimental. And yet I manage to say, “I lost everything- but I have everything.” At that moment, my life was on a roller coaster ride, with so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and I simply wanted to get off the turbulent fast pace ride. It seemed as though my life was another episode on the Lifetime movie channel.
But somehow or another, I got my emotions in check, mustered up some internal strength; and I realized, we were all safe and no one had lost their lives! We could begin again. I will not tell you, that I did not experience the stages of grief and loss, because I did, and I cried often. And I questioned, “Why me?”
However, staying positive and hopeful for our future made all the difference, in keeping me mentally stable and not losing my mind. But most importantly, having faith and a relationship with God had the greatest impact of helping my family and I deal with our loss and many life challenging events. It was through daily prayer, reading scriptures that related to my situation(s) and having prayer warrior friends and family, who would pray with me and for me was the game changer that helped me triumph through my many trials.
God always sends a ram in the bush to help us through our trials and provide us with comfort in our time of need. I want you to think back over your life, and especially on all your trials and situations you experienced. Who was the person or individuals that were there for you? God strategically, places people to support us in some shape or fashion during our time of need. I can bet on it, there was someone that helped you get through your situation. These were individuals that God sent to help you! They listened to you, helped you financially, loaned you a car, or gave you a ride to and from work; provided you with encouraging words, brought you food; took care of you or a family member; called or texted you to make sure you were okay; watched your kids, cleaned up your house, and stayed up with you all night while listening to you, repeat your story over and over; or God used them to stop you from taking your own life.
Thank God for sending a ram and in a bush during our time of need. Often, God will use a stranger or someone we least expect to bless us! Wow, what an awesome God we serve. Many of us, which includes me, will seek God for a miracle for ourselves and others. When in fact, we need to ask God, “How can I be a miracle for someone else?”
Way too often, we think it’s all about us and it’s not. We cry out, and we create a pity party for ourselves or think we’re the victim. Most situations that negatively impact our lives are self-inflicted and could have been avoided. If only, we had listened to that still little voice inside of us that tried to help us avoid a situation or to let us know that danger was near. Don’t get me wrong. There are situations and circumstances that we cannot avoid or prevent, which can be devasting and cause a set-back in our lives that’s totally out of our control. However, God will use others to helps along our journey or until we can get back on track.
I know my story and situation is not unique and there are lots of people who experienced a fire and trial after trail. However, if you are going through something right now, I want you to stay encouraged, by seeking help and support from close friends and family members and especially those who have your best interest at heart. These are rams in a bush that God has strategically placed in your life to assist you. Please don’t be afraid to accept help or to ask for help. Also, if you need to get help and support from a licensed counselor or therapist. I highly encourage you to do so as well. But, seek God first, and I promise you, he will get you through your situation. The scripture Matthew 6:33 tells us, but seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. God’s promises us in this scripture that he will see us through our situation! But we need to seek his help, comfort, strength and guidance first!
Now, trust and believe that God will work everything out on your behalf. Again, I am reminded of the scripture Romans 8:28, “ And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called to His purpose. Losing all my earthy possessions taught me, what you have today can be gone tomorrow, and reminded me that life is precious and it’s a gift, and to make most of it, while I am here and to continue to give back to others and to be someone else’s miracle.
Through my lost and many trails, I experienced. I want to use those trails to keep others encouraged and be a beacon of life to someone else. But more importantly, I want to live full and to die empty. Whatever, I can do to be a blessing to someone else and every dream that God placed inside of me. I want those dreams and aspirations to come into fruition in this season of my life. Because I know, that life is a gift from God and time is one commodity that cannot be reused; and once it’s gone, you can get that time back! In the apartment fire, I lost everything I own, and I can’t get those items back. But I realized, I lost everything, but I have everything in Christ Jesus, who always causes us to win.
Jeannine Williams is the CEO and founder of Jae-9’s Educational Consulting, and Jae-9’s Properties and Rentals. she firmly believes in “helping people to help themselves.” She has been very successful in providing training and development to students, parents, and administrators in K-12 and higher education. Throughout her career she has placed a strong emphasis on adult education, human resource management, administrative operations, supervision and organizational development. Also, she is the proud primary parent of her daughter Brianna Nicole; and firmly believes that charity begins at home. Moreover, Jeannine is the youngest of four children, enjoys writing poetry, spending quality time with her family and close friends, traveling and giving back to her community via her time, talent and resources.
