Heather asked us “What life experiences have you had that He might use to grow others–if you are willing for them to be used…” Also consider your training as well as hobbies. If you have been trained to do something He can use it as well.
When I look back I see many things God used or trained me in, that I would need later on in life. Here are a few examples:
1. I babysat a lot while growing up. I was a young mother; I was able to watch kids in my home so I could be a stay at home mother.
2. I took public speaking in high school, and majored in communication in college. I taught several bible classes as an adult, and was a pre-school teacher when my kids were in pre-school.
3. I was blessed with wonderful mentors; what these mentors taught me, got me through the most difficult times in my life.
4. I learned how to do research, how to find what I am looking for. I was able to use that towards a problem one of my kids was going through.
You see I think almost everything in my life, are life experiences God is going to use later on in my life (in one way or another). This includes my friendships also. I have friends that taught me how to be more sensitive, so with another friend I knew how to reach out. I had another friend teach me what it meant to be hospitable, so when one friend was in need I could help take care of her needs. I had a friend challenge what was said in the bible, and it made me study more and learn more and grow closer to God.
There is nothing I learn that is off limits to God; he can use anything in my life. The way I see it, God is bringing things (or have brought things) into my life for two reasons.
1. To teach me a lesson or stretch me.
2. To give me the tools necessary for something later on in my life.
This includes depression, ADHD, finances, premature baby, diabetes, infertility, having a “gifted” child and what that means, having a child that struggles academically, non-Christian family members, being laid off from your job, being unhappy in your job, etc…. Not all of these have directly affected me, but all of them have touched my life significantly in one way or another. God can use the knowledge I have in each of those areas. I can be there for another, offer encouragement, or have the heart to just sit there and cry with them knowing how it feels.
This relates back to my post about why God brings certain trials into your life. Life experiences are the cornerstone of spreading Gods glory, His mercy, His compassion, we are something tangible that people can see (and hopefully it is Christ they see through us).
Head on over to Heathers to read more.
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Excellent response. Really life experiences are such a key part of what God uses that it didn’t make sense to leave it out, though it did make a few people rather uncomfortable.
I think the key is allowing Him to use them, as you said. He can truly use anything in our lives for His Glory because we are His Creation.
Excellent post. If we allow Him God does use everything and anything we have gone through to touch someone else. Thanks for laying it out in such an encouraging way!
I tell my hubby all the time I wish I had never gone to college and wasted all that money to get my teaching degree, when I ended up being “just” (ha) a housewife and homeschool mom.
One day recently he gently nudged me and said, “baby, God was just preparing you then because He knew you’d be homeschooling these kids one day.” WOW. First off, when my husband speaks on a spiritual level, listen up. He is very quiet and shy and he often ponders more than he speaks. So radars go off when he speaks about deep things! Second, I had never ever thought of it that way.
Might just have to go blog about t his….