Psalms 116:1-2 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

It's Thursday and I have a special guest post. My cousin Angela is sharing her story. I hope you're as blessed reading her testimony as I have been, watching it lived out. 

Praising God in the Difficult Times

Written by: Angela Dorris

It's always easy to find ourselves seeking God when everything seems to be falling apart. I used to be that person that only truly searched for God when things were going wrong. 

In my life, I have lost my sister, my great-grandmother, my first husband, my grandmother and am now on the verge of losing my aunt. Most of these losses have something in common; praising God in the difficult times. 

 I would like to start with my sister Kelli. She was the kindest, sweetest little angel I have ever met who had the biggest heart for God. You see, she was born with a heart condition and only lived to be 5. 
 Her dream during her short period on Earth was to go to school. That opportunity did come open. She was able to attend Early primary school. She wasn't able to go for very long because of her health. 

  
  Kelli spent a good part of her life in the hospital. The very last month she was alive, she attended Vacation Bible School at Early First Baptist Church. I'm so grateful for that week because all she talked about was how Jesus was her friend. Kelli wanted to make sure that her sister Holly had Jesus as a friend too. At that time my brother Shawn and I were already saved. Holly did not accept Christ before Kelli died, but she did later on in life. 

 Kelli knew and understood how much God loved her and it didn't seem to matter that she was really sick. That was the beginning of knowing what it truly means to praise God in the difficult times.

Now, on to my great-grandmother. She was truly a woman of God who always wanted to teach. The best thing I remember about her is that she taught people how to read. The only book she used was the Bible. During her 90 years of life I never heard her complain or blame God for her not feeling well. She is the one who walked down the aisle with me when I became a Christian.

  
My first husband was taken away from us when my children were very young. He died in a car accident. I remember people coming over to the house the night he died commenting on how much peace was in the home. The only way you can have peace like that is when you put all your cares into God's hands. I was only 29 at the time of his death, with no job and still in college. 

 God provided for me and my children.

My grandmother passed away 3 months later due to complications from a heart attack and a stroke. I remember years before when she had the heart attack, my family came together and starting praising God and praying.

My dad had never really been sick a day in his life. One day he was taken by EMS to the hospital, and then transported to another hospital in Ft. Worth. My dad was in ICU for less than a month before he passed away. I remember the doctor calling my other grandmother and telling her to come quick because my dad wasn’t going to make it much longer. 

  

On the way, I made a wrong turn that would eventually cause use to be another hour late. I remember asking God to help my dad hold on until we could make it there. I am a person who loves to sing and I was feeling anxious because I didn't know if we would make it time. 

 I had a praise and worship CD that I had been listening to from time to time. We all started singing on the way to the hospital even though we knew the outcome for my dad wasn't going to change. We did make it in time to see him. God put so much peace into my heart after my dad passed away that we were also able to sing praises to him on our long drive back home.

Now my aunt is dying from cancer. I haven't had a chance to go visit her but I wanted to share what the rest of my aunts and my mom did this past weekend. My aunt is in a nursing home and all of her sisters gathered around her. They were able to create t-shirts together and talk, laugh and cry together. The thing that stands out the most to me is that they sang praise songs to God together, even that aunt that is very sick. 

 It's always easy to love on God when things are going well. Job knew how to praise God in the difficult times. Let's all learn to lean on God and praise Him during our difficult times too.  

 

                   Psalms 50:15 …call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

 
About Angela: Angela is one of my older cousins. She's a beautiful soul. With one of the most indomitable spirits I've ever witnessed, she has walked through fire, not once, but numerous times. Don't be fooled. She also has the gentlest of spirits. She plays the piano. I am imagining that the music David played that calmed Saul's troubled soul must have sounded something like it. She's the mom of a handful of boys (some, now men)and is married to a great guy who praises God alongside her. She's also a teacher. Oh, is she a teacher. In more ways than I can count. 

If you're interested in writing a guest post for A Thursday for Your Thoughts, shoot me an email. You have a testimony. Tell it. 

kristiburden@gmail.com