“Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their labor:

If either
of them falls down,one can help the other up.

But pity
anyone who fallsand has no one to help them up.” (4:9-10)

The last couple of years have been
pretty rough on us. We have just come through some valleys that I wasn’t sure
we were going to get through. Also, there were some pretty dark times. It was a nightmare and there were times I
wondered if the nightmare would ever end. This isn’t the first time we have
been through some valleys. Although, this probably was one of the darkest times
we have experienced. We have had other valleys, but this one was different. It
lingered for some time. It just seemed
to never end. My husband and I laughed often calling it Ground Hog Day. If you
have seen the movie then you know what I am talking about. If not I will
briefly explain. Each day you get up is the same as the day before; nothing has
changed. You go through the same routine and the same things happen over and
over.

There were some difficult days and
some difficult decisions had to be made. We had to choose how to live without
an income and what things were important to us. God showed us what was
important and what was not. He graciously allowed us to keep our home, but
little else. After a long battle I can
say things are better. My husband is back to work with the same company. We
were able to spend Christmas with our family, and even though we don’t have a
lot of material things, we can say we have made it through those desperate
times.

I share these things with you for one
reason and one reason only. My purpose is to let you know, no matter what
happens in your life, you too can make it. There are some things I want to
share with you about how to make it through difficult times.

One of the things we had to decide
early on was whether or not we were going to be open with family and friends.
It would have been easy to handle this all on our own, but the longer it went
on the less likely that was going to happen.
Soon friends and family knew what we were dealing with and just how bad
it was. As I reflect back sharing with family and friends was one of the
greatest things we could have done. My
family was not in a position to help financially and we knew that, but what
they could do was pray and to lift us up.
And lift us up they did. They supported us in every way they could. My
church family soon became an important tool for me. Some of our church family
gave us work to do that helped keep some of the bills paid up. Others gave us
money to help in other ways. Some of our friends even brought us
groceries. The most important thing the
church family did was to hang in there with us. They never left our side, they
never looked down on us, and at times they were our cheerleaders, cheering us
on in those dark days. They encouraged
us, prayed for us and sometimes even cried with us. In the Bible in Ecclesiastes it reminds us, “Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their
labor: If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.But pity anyone who fallsand has no one to help them up.” (4:9-10). With our church family at our side, we
were strong. We knew we weren’t going through this alone. God was gracious
enough to put us in a church that didn’t push away, but instead encouraged us,
loved us, and most importantly, prayed for us. My advice is to tell friends and
family what you are going through. It is one of the most important lessons I
learned. You cannot get through dark times or valleys on your own. You need the
love, support and prayers of others. Don’t be afraid to share what you are
going through, for they too will feel your heartache and shed a few tears right
along with you. It’s okay to let them
know you are scared. They will bring peace into your life when you have no
peace. Friends are your stepping stones to better times.

Never give up reading your Bible; even when you don’t feel like it. There
were times my Bible went days without me opening it. Those were the days that
seemed most difficult. When once again I would return to the Bible I would find
just the right scripture to get me through what I was struggling with on that
particular day. God would speak to me through parables, or through lessons on
material things, or He would give me words of hope and trust. Matthew 6:25-27 took on new meaning for me. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will
wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap
or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they? Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” I
had to remind myself daily how important I was to God and that things would be
okay. My husband and I never suffered any serious health issues during this
time; we had clothes on our back, and food on our table. The food might have
been scarce, there might not have always been plenty, but we had enough to keep
us going from day to day. We lost furniture and my vehicle, but then God
reminded me of this verse,“Do
not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not
destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also.”(Matthew 6:19-21) These were just things. Things can be replaced; lives
can’t. These things are not supposed to be where my heart was. My heart was to
be with God and heavenly things. We had a fire early on in our married life. We
lost everything we had, but God graciously gave us back those things as time
went on. I had forgotten that. I had to be reminded God will give us back what
we lose if we stick it out with Him. I
found scripture day after day that kept me going. If I hadn’t kept up my Bible
reading I would have lost the strength to keep on keeping on.
Sometimes I heard myself say, “I just can’t pray today or I don’t know
how to pray anymore” or there were times I didn’t think God heard my prayers or
the prayers of anyone else. Everyone was praying for us; yet our prayers went
unanswered. Why? There are several reasons God doesn’t always answer our
prayers when we think He should. As I reflect back I think for me I had some
growing to do. I think God used this time to teach me some things He thought I
needed to learn. Things I already knew, but things I hadn’t learned. I think
you can know things, but I think until you apply them to your life you really
haven’t learned them. There were lessons for me to learn and I think God was
planning on getting my attention one way or the other. It’s not that way for everybody.
Sometimes we don’t get answers to our prayers because we aren’t praying that God’s
will be done in our life. We want that new car, or that promotion, or that new
home, but God says that is not what I want for you right now or that is not
what’s best for you. There were days
when all I could get out of my mouth was, “help me make it through this day,
Lord” or when I fell into bed my prayer would be, “Thank you we made it through
another day.” But through it all I know
prayer kept me going; not only my prayers, but the prayers of others.
Never lose hope in God or what God can do. I just found this and I love
it, “When you are down to nothing God is up to something.” Proverbs 16:9. I had
to cling to hope. Were there times I lost hope? Yes there were. There was one
time I was ready to give up. I lost it and for several days, my husband was
worried about me. He couldn’t take me to the doctor, nothing he said mattered,
and nothing he did worked. He depended on the prayers of some of our friends to
get me through those dark times. I had to find hope and trust in God. I had to
choose to pick myself up and find the hope I had lost. Part of trusting God is
coming to the point when you realize there is nothing more you can do for
yourself. I had to realize no matter how angry or how mad I was at the
situation there was nothing I could do about it. I had to wait for God to move
mountains. I had to trust in Him to work things out. I found verses like Psalm
56:11,“in God I trust and am
not afraid. What can man do
to me?” Psalm
62:8, “Trust
in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is
our refuge.” There were many other scriptures of trust that I read over and over.
Never stop trusting God and never give up hope. One of the most hopeful
scriptures was this one found in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for
you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future.”Proverbs 23:18 says,There
is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off.”There
is a saying that goes something like “when you lose all hope and fall, you fall
into God’s hands.” I found myself in God’s hands being carried for just a
little while. I found that hope and trust again that I had once lost. Never give up hope and
trust in God. God will never fail you. I can say that with a firm conviction. I
am “living proof” of it.
The things that will get you through difficult times are your family,
friends, reading and believing God’s words, prayer, hope and trust. Along with these things, keep your faith
intact. Keep your faith in God. He will not disappoint you. YouCAN and
WILL get
through those dark times and deep valleys. I know, I am living proof.
The other thing God shared with me as I was going through this is the
toughest of all to learn. After we got through this I was ready to move on, get
past this, and even act like it didn’t happen. But the whole time I was going
through this I found this scripture, “Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves receive fromGod.” (2 Corinthians
1:3-4) Simply put, God was comforting me so I could share my story with others,
to comfort them as they go through difficult times. I can’t just sweep all of this
under the carpet and pretend it didn’t happen. I have an obligation to help
others who are going through tough times. I need to be there to cry for them;
to pray for them, to love them and to offer whatever I can offer them to help
them just as others helped me. But, what I want to share the most with them is
God loves you, He hasn’t forgotten you and you will be okay. You will make it
through this and we can band together to help others get through their tough
times. We who once were weak have now been made strong to help others who are
weak become strong. God has called us to be His earthly vessels to love and
comfort others; to share with others what He has given us.

I don’t know what this year will bring
for you, but I do know no matter what it is, with friends, family, the Bible,
prayer, faith, hope and trust you CANmake it. Call me and I will be
there sharing God’s love with you every step of the way. God bless!

Prayer

Dear
Lord, thank you for getting me through some tough dark times. Thank you for
friends and family who kept me in their prayers and grounded to You. Thank You
for words that You spoke so long ago that mean so much to me today. Thank You
for hearing my prayers no matter how desperate they were or how lost I was.
Thank you for helping me find the trust that I had lost. Thank You that when
all else fails, I can still find hope in You.
I don’t always like to share my stories or my life, but if it can help
someone else, then guide my paths, direct my words and allow me to be used by
You for Your glory and honor. Keep me close by Your side forever more. Amen.

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About Becky Brown

I am founder of LT Frog Ministries. I also have a workshop that I provide to churches and organizations titled, “Turning Trials into Triumphs with God’s Help.”
I live in Burleson,Texas but I am originally from Indiana. My husband and I moved here from Indiana about four years ago. He works at Arlington at the GM plant. We love Texas!
We have three daughters, Kristi, Angie and Kim who have given us three wonderful sons (we lost our only son at six weeks, so now I claim my sons-in-law as sons), four beautiful grandchildren, Bekah, Ross, Allie and Austin. We have a four legged spoiled child.
I was a church secretary in Indiana for about twelve years. I attend First United Methodist Church in Burleson. I have taught Bible Studies, rotate teaching Sunday School, and volunteer in the church office. I am President of the United Methodist Women at our church and will continue in that capacity next year.
I have been on five mission trips. If you have never been on one you don’t know what God has in store for you and you are missing out. I have been on a “Walk to Emmaus” which totally changed my life. I am the person and the Christian I am today because of that walk. My thing is “frogs”. I hand them out often. They remind people to “Fully Rely On God” at all times. Check out my website!
My articles are all God inspired. I often say He is the author, I am His instrument. I ask people not to praise me for the articles I have written, but to thank God I am willing to be used by Him for Him. I pray my devotions will always encourage someone to love God a little deeper, grow a little stronger or come to know God on a more personal level.
I hope together we can learn to “fully rely on God” more every day! God Bless.

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